by Ralph D. Russo Believe the hype. Deion Sanders’ debut as Colorado coach was billed as a big deal, but there was plenty of skepticism about just how good the Buffaloes could be after an unprecedented roster makeover in Boulder. “We told you we were coming. You thought we were joking. We keep receipts,” Sanders said after Colorado upset No. 17 TCU 45-42 on Saturday in a performance that exceeded even the most lofty expectations. The team with nearly 90 new players beat the team that played for the national championship last season. Where to begin? Sanders’ son, Shedeur, set…

by Mike Schneider A Florida redistricting plan pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis violates the state constitution and is prohibited from being used for any future U.S. congressional elections since it diminishes the ability of Black voters in north Florida to pick a representative of their choice, a state judge ruled Saturday. Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh sent the plan back to the Florida Legislature with instructions that lawmakers should draw a new congressional map that complies with the Florida Constitution. The voting rights groups that challenged the plan in court “have shown that the enacted plan results in the diminishment of…

by Frances D’Emilio ROME  — A former Italian premier, in an interview published on Saturday, contended that a French air force missile accidentally brought down a passenger jet over the Mediterranean Sea in 1980 in a failed bid to assassinate Libya’s then leader Moammar Gadhafi. Former two-time Premier Giuliano Amato appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron to either refute or confirm his assertion about the cause of the crash on June 27, 1980, which killed all 81 persons aboard the Italian domestic flight. In an interview with Rome daily La Repubblica, Amato said he is convinced that France hit the…

by Stephen Hawkins FORT WORTH, Texas  — After nine months of hype, Deion Sanders had Colorado ready for prime time in his much-anticipated debut as Buffaloes coach. Shedeur Sanders, the coach’s son, threw for a school-record 510 yards with four touchdowns — the game-winner a 46-yard catch-and-run by freshman Dylan Edwards with 4:25 left —- and the Buffs pulled off an opening shocker with a 45-42 win Saturday over 17th-ranked TCU, last year’s national runner-up. Deion Sanders came to Boulder, Colorado, to revitalize a long-dormant program, with an unprecedented roster flip. Two-way star Travis Hunter, Edwards and Shedeur Sanders are…

by Danica Kirka, Cara Rubinsky and Jill Lawless LONDON  — Mohamed Al Fayed, the flamboyant Egypt-born businessman whose son was killed in a car crash with Princess Diana, died this week, his family said Friday. He was 94. Al Fayed, the longtime owner of Harrods department store and the Fulham Football Club, was devastated by the death of son Dodi Fayed in the car crash in Paris with Diana 26 years ago. He spent years mourning the loss and fighting the British establishment he blamed for their deaths. “Mrs Mohamed Al Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that…

by Jay Cohen CHICAGO  — White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is pushing back on the possibility that a shooting at Guaranteed Rate Field came from a gun inside the ballpark. Two women were injured in a shooting during the team’s 12-4 loss to Oakland last week. Chicago police are investigating what happened, including whether the gun was fired inside or outsideof the facility. Fred Waller, interim superintendent of Chicago Police Department, said Monday that investigators have nearly ruled out the possibility that the shots came from outside the ballpark. “I spoke with Superintendent Waller last night, and he authorized me to say that…

by Mark Sherman WASHINGTON  — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomasacknowledged Thursday that he took three trips last year aboard a private plane owned by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow even as he rejected criticism over his failure to report trips in previous years. It’s the first time in years that Thomas has reported receiving hospitality from Crow. In a filing posted on the federal judiciary’s website, the 75-year-old justice said he was complying with new guidelines from the federal judiciary for reporting travel, but did not include any earlier travel at Crow’s expense, including a 2019 trip in Indonesia aboard the…

by Nicholas Riccardi As former President Donald Trump dominates the Republican presidential primary, some liberal groups and legal experts contend that a rarely used clause of the Constitution prevents him from being president after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The 14th Amendment bars from office anyone who once took an oath to uphold the Constitution but then “engaged” in “insurrection or rebellion” against it. A growing number of legal scholars say the post-Civil War clause applies to Trump after his role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election and encouraging his backers to storm the…

by Sam Mednick DAKAR, Senegal  — The ouster of Gabon’s president by mutinous soldiers appears to have been well organized and capitalized on the population’s grievances against the government as an excuse to seize power, analysts said. Soldiers on Wednesday ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, whose family has ruled the oil-rich country in Central Africa for more than five decades. The coup leaders accused Bongo of irresponsible governance that risked leading the country into chaos and said they put him under house arrest and detained several Cabinet members. The head of Gabon’s elite republican guard, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema,…

by Yves Laurent Coma and Sam Mednick LIBREVILLE, Gabon  — Mutinous soldiers in Gabon proclaimed their republican guard chief as the country’s leader Wednesday after placing the just-reelected President Ali Bongo Ondimba under house arrest, alleging betrayal and massive embezzlement during his long-time rule over the oil-rich Central African nation. The coup leaders said in an announcement on Gabon’s state TV that Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema had been “unanimously” designated president of a transitional committee to lead the country. Oligui is a cousin of Bongo, who earlier Wednesday had been declared the winner of the country’s latest presidential election…