Hurricane Beryl churns toward Mexico after leaving destruction in Jamaica and eastern Caribbean

TULUM, Mexico (AP) — After leaving a trail of destruction across the eastern Caribbean and at least nine people dead, Hurricane Beryl weakened as it chugged over open water toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, going from the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic to Category 2 by the evening.

Jack Beven, senior hurricane specialist at the U.S. Hurricane Center, said "the biggest immediate threat now that the storm is moving away from the Cayman Islands is landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula."

The storm's center was about 180 miles (295 kilometers) east-southeast of Tulum, Mexico...