U.S. President Donald Trump visited disaster-hit western North Carolina on Friday and was traveling later to Los Angeles, promising help while stoking partisan tensions with Democratic rivals over recovery efforts.

The Republican president has criticized former President Joe Biden for his administration's response to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. As he left the White House, he told reporters that “it’s been a horrible thing the way that’s been allowed to fester” since the storm hit in September, and "we're going to get it fixed up.”

California firefighters could make more headway in containing three major wildfires burning in and around Los Angeles on Friday, as the latest round of blistering winds calm and the area's first rainfall in months arrives over the weekend.

Firefighters have slowed the spread of a huge wildfire churning through rugged mountains north of Los Angeles where dangerous winds gained strength again.