As it plowed across Cuba, the storm slowed to a Category 2 hurricane chugging into the Gulf of Mexico near northern Mexico and southern Texas, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Rafael made landfall in Cuba on Wednesday as a powerful Category 3 hurricane, shortly after powerful winds knocked out the country’s power grid.

A Missouri couple died on Tuesday in flash floods while driving to a voting site. They were two of five people who lost their ...