Heavy winter snow and a very wet spring in the Western U.S. generated predictions the 2017 wildfire season would be tame. But it's shaping up to be one of the worst in U.S. history in land burned.

Across the region, smoky haze in cities and towns prevented people from going outside except for short periods and prompted potential bans of high school football games. In some areas where homes have burned, people have stayed in makeshift shelters for weeks.

French, British and Dutch military authorities rushed aid to a devastated string of Caribbean islands Thursday after Hurricane Irma left at least 11 people dead and thousands homeless as it spun toward Florida for what could be a catastrophic blow this weekend.

Warships and planes were dispatched with food, water and troops after the fearsome Category 5 storm smashed homes, schools and roads, laying waste to some of the world's most beautiful and exclusive tourist destinations.

Mexico on Thursday expelled the ambassador of North Korea in protest over Pyongyang's latest nuclear test which it said posed "a grave risk for peace."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro warned Thursday that state governors elected in regional votes in October "must submit" to the will of a newly-created Constituent Assembly or they will be dismissed.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that military action against a defiant North Korea after its recent powerful nuclear test was "not inevitable."

Speaking in a White House news conference along with the premier of Kuwait, the president said, "Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitable? Nothing's inevitable."

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday reiterated her 'unwavering support' for Venezuela's opposition-held National Assembly, as she met with its leader Julio Borges in London.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and China's President Xi Jinping agreed Wednesday to back harsher sanctions against North Korea over its latest nuclear test, her spokesman said.

Russia's military chief on Thursday brushed off NATO concerns about Moscow's war games with Belarus next week at a rare meeting with a senior commander from the U.S.-led alliance.

Kosovo's president on Thursday tapped former rebel fighter and ex-premier Ramush Haradinaj to form a new government, following three months of political stalemate since elections in June.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko laid out Thursday Kiev's terms for sending a U.N.-mandated force to conflict-hit east Ukraine, knocking back key demands in a proposal by Russia's Vladimir Putin.