Hurricane Rafael swirls over the Gulf of Mexico after ripping through Cuba

HAVANA (AP) — Hurricane Rafael swirled Friday through the Gulf of Mexico where it was expected to break apart after plowing through Cuba, knocking out the country's power grid and collapsing hundreds of houses.

On Friday afternoon, the now Category 2 hurricane was located 230 miles (365 km) north-northeast of Progreso, Mexico. It had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) and was moving northwest at 9 mph (15 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

It was forecast to move westward toward Mexico in the coming days and forecasters warned that swells from the hurricane were likely to cause “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”

Mexico's government on Friday warned of powerful rain, winds and waves up to 8 feet (2.5 meters) high in the Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatan states in the coming hours, asking citizens to take care.

Forecasters said they expected the storm to weaken and “meander” over the center of the Gulf through early next week.

The hurricane tore through Jamaica and the Cayman Islands earlier in the week, knocking out power and fueling mudslides. On Wednesday evening, it barreled into Cuba, causing yet another headache for the island.

Rafael's fierce winds knocked out Cuba's electric grid, forced the evacuation of 283,000 people and collapsed 461 homes. It also left trees, power lines and rubble strewn across flooded streets.

On Friday, the Cuban government said it was able to restore power to approximately 143,000 homes in Havana, though many people were still without power.

Rafael followed a rocky few weeks in the Caribbean nation. First, it was hit by island-wide blackouts stretching on for days, a product of the island’s energy crisis. Shortly after, it was slapped by powerful hurricane that struck the eastern part of the island and killed at least six people.

People load a mattress into a truck after their home was destroyed by Hurricane Rafael, in Alquizar, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People recover a mattress from their home, which was destroyed by Hurricane Rafael, in Alquizar, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A fallen palm tree is held by the power lines it brought down after Hurricane Rafael passed through Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Ley)

People recover belongings from their houses, which were destroyed by Hurricane Rafael, in Alquizar, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Children play on a road next to a banana plantation that was destroyed after the passage of Hurricane Rafael, in Guira de Melena, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People recover belongings from their houses, which were destroyed by Hurricane Rafael, in Alquizar, Cuba, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

NEW YORK (AP) — A 20-year-old was arrested after breaking into Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and stealing a Christmas ornament in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day, authorities said.

Shortly before 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, the suspect jumped a fence to the property, a stately residence inside a park on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, police said. He then made his way to the second floor, where he was found inside a bathroom minutes after entering the residence.

During an interview at a local police precinct, the suspect showed detectives a video of him removing a Christmas ornament from a drawer in the house, according to a criminal complaint. The man turned over the ornament and several other items, which were not specified in the complaint.

The suspect, who lives a few blocks from the Upper East Side residence, is due to be arraigned in a Manhattan court on Thursday.

A spokesperson for Adams said the mayor was not home at the time of the pre-dawn incident.

FILE - This Oct. 7, 2013, file photo shows the exterior of Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)