Lautaro Martinez ends goal drought as Inter keep pressure on Serie A leadersIs he a hero? A killer? Both? About the same time the #FreeLuigi memes featuring the mustachioed plumber from “Super Mario Brothers” mushroomed online, commenters shared memes showing Tony Soprano pronouncing , the man charged with , a hero. There were posts lionizing Mangione’s physique and appearance, the ones speculating about who could play him on “Saturday Night Live,” and the ones denouncing and even threatening people at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s for spotting him and calling police. It was all too much for Pennsylvania's governor, a rising Democrat who was nearly the vice presidential nominee this year. Josh Shapiro — dealing with a case somewhere else that happened to land in his lap — decried what he saw as growing support for “vigilante justice.” The curious case of Brian Thompson and Luigi Mangione captivated and polarized a media-saturated nation. It also offers a glimpse into how, in a connected world, so many different aspects of modern American life can be surreally linked — from public violence to politics, from health care to . It summons a question, too: How can so many people consider someone a hero when the rules that govern American society — the laws — are treating him as the complete opposite? Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, on Monday at the police station in Altoona, Pa. Writings found in Mangione's possession hinted at a vague hatred of corporate greed and an expression of anger toward “parasitic” health insurance companies. “deny,” “defend” and “depose,” reflecting words used by insurance industry critics, written on them. A number of online posts combine an apparent disdain for health insurers — with no mention of the loss of life. “He took action against private health insurance corporations is what he did. he was a brave italian martyr. in this house, luigi mangione is a hero, end of story!” one anonymous person said in a post on X that has nearly 2 million views. On Monday, Shapiro took issue with comments like those. It was an extraordinary moment that he tumbled into simply because Mangione was apprehended in Pennsylvania. Shapiro's comments — pointed, impassioned and, inevitably, political — yanked the conversation unfolding on so many people's phone screens into real life. “We do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint,” the governor said. “In a civil society, we are all less safe when ideologues engage in vigilante justice.” But to hear some of his fellow citizens tell it, that's not the case at all. Like Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, D.B. Cooper and other notorious names from the American past, Mangione is being cast as someone to admire. Luigi Nicholas Mangione is escorted into Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday in Hollidaysburg, Pa. Regina Bateson, an assistant political science professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder, has studied vigilantism, the term to which Shapiro alluded. She doesn’t see this case as a good fit for the word, she says, because the victim wasn’t linked to any specific crime or offense. As she sees it, it's more akin to domestic terrorism. But Bateson views the threats , and ticking up — plus the against President-elect Donald Trump this past summer — as possible signs that personal grievances or political agendas could erupt. “Americans are voicing more support for — or at least understanding of — political violence,” she said. Shapiro praised the police and the people of Blair County, who abided by a 9/11-era dictum of seeing something and saying something. The commenters have Mangione wrong, the governor said: “Hear me on this: He is no hero. The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald’s this morning." A person demonstrates Monday near the McDonald's restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where police earlier in the day arrested Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, in the Dec. 4 killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO in Manhattan. Even shy of supporting violence, there are many instances of people who vent over how health insurers deny claims. Tim Anderson's wife, Mary, dealt with UnitedHealthcare coverage denials before she died from Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2022. “The business model for insurance is don’t pay,” Anderson, 67, of Centerville, Ohio, . The discourse around the killing and Mangione is more than just memes. Conversations about the interconnectedness of various parts of American life are unfolding online as well. One Reddit user said he was banned for three days for supporting Kyle Rittenhouse, after testifying he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot two people in 2020 during protests. “Do you think people are getting banned for supporting Luigi?” the poster wondered. The comments cover a lot of ground. They include people saying the UnitedHealthcare slaying isn't a “right or left issue" and wondering what it would take to get knocked off the platform. “You probably just have to cross the line over into promoting violence,” one commenter wrote. “Not just laughing about how you don’t care about this guy.” Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday in Hollidaysburg, Pa. Memes and online posts in support of the 26-year-old man, who's charged with killing UnitedHealthcare's CEO, have mushroomed online. 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A 7-year-old rivalry between tech leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman over who should run OpenAI and prevent an artificial intelligence "dictatorship" is now heading to a federal judge as Musk seeks to halt the ChatGPT maker's ongoing shift into a for-profit company. Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk has since escalated the dispute, adding new claims and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAI’s plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. The world's richest man, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, last year started his own rival AI company, xAI. Musk says it faces unfair competition from OpenAI and its close business partner Microsoft, which has supplied the huge computing resources needed to build AI systems such as ChatGPT. “OpenAI and Microsoft together exploiting Musk’s donations so they can build a for-profit monopoly, one now specifically targeting xAI, is just too much,” says Musk's filing that alleges the companies are violating the terms of Musk’s foundational contributions to the charity. OpenAI is filing a response Friday opposing Musk’s requested order, saying it would cripple OpenAI’s business and mission to the advantage of Musk and his own AI company. A hearing is set for January before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland. At the heart of the dispute is a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling startup that led to Altman becoming OpenAI's CEO. Musk also wanted the job, according to emails revealed as part of the court case, but grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the startup succeeded in its goal to achieve better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence , or AGI. Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten humanity. “The current structure provides you with a path where you end up with unilateral absolute control over the AGI," said a 2017 email to Musk from co-founders Ilya Sutskever and Greg Brockman. “You stated that you don't want to control the final AGI, but during this negotiation, you've shown to us that absolute control is extremely important to you.” In the same email, titled “Honest Thoughts,” Sutskever and Brockman also voiced concerns about Altman's desire to be CEO and whether he was motivated by “political goals.” Altman eventually succeeded in becoming CEO, and has remained so except for a period last year when he was fired and then reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced. OpenAI published the messages Friday in a blog post meant to show its side of the story, particularly Musk's early support for the idea of making OpenAI a for-profit business so it could raise money for the hardware and computer power that AI needs. It was Musk, through his wealth manager Jared Birchall, who first registered “Open Artificial Technologies Technologies, Inc.”, a public benefit corporation, in September 2017. Then came the “Honest Thoughts” email that Musk described as the “final straw.” “Either go do something on your own or continue with OpenAI as a nonprofit,” Musk wrote back. OpenAI said Musk later proposed merging the startup into Tesla before resigning as the co-chair of OpenAI's board in early 2018. Musk didn't immediately respond to emailed requests for comment sent to his companies Friday. Asked about his frayed relationship with Musk at a New York Times conference last week, Altman said he felt “tremendously sad” but also characterized Musk’s legal fight as one about business competition. “He’s a competitor and we’re doing well,” Altman said. He also said at the conference that he is “not that worried” about the Tesla CEO’s influence with President-elect Donald Trump. OpenAI said Friday that Altman plans to make a $1 million personal donation to Trump’s inauguration fund, joining a number of tech companies and executives who are working to improve their relationships with the incoming administration. —————————— The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP’s text archives.
Robots have progressed over the years from clunky hunks of metal to complex, AI-enabled machines capable of running, speaking, and even . But even with all those advances humans still can’t help but place robots in bizarre and uncomfortable situations. This year, researchers took advanced robots and had them clean up , , , and . Two-legged, humanoid robots, which could one day work on factory floors, and . Here are just a few of the oddest things we did to robots this year. Having pets can add a layer of joy to life that’s irreplaceable. That is, except for the one to two times per day that furry new bundle of joy leads you to bend over and scoop excrement off of hot concrete. A Corgi-owning Minnesota man named Caleb Olson is all too familiar with this dilemma and believes he may have created a solution: . He calls his invention the “Poopcopter.” The quadcopter is programmed to fly around a backyard or other predetermined area and use real-time computer vision to scan for signs of poop. Once detected, the “doo doo drone” as Olsen sometimes refers to his invention, will soar down right above its target, rotate around 30 degrees and then use a custom design 3D-printed scooper to grab and remove the waste. In his demonstration, Olson said the packaged poo could then be dispersed in a detected garage area or maybe even on a neighbor’s roof. “Whenever it detects she [Olson’s dog named Twinkie] is pooping it keeps a log of when she poops and stores an image and over time stores a location,” Olsen . “Which is really nice in the winter when snow covers it.” Smoking cigarettes isn’t just rough on the body: they can also make a mess of the planet. In the US in 2021, show there were 9.7 billion cigarette butts discarded on the ground. That’s reportedly around 20% of all litter for the year. Researchers from the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in an effort to shrink that growing mountain of butts down. The VERO, or “Vacuum-cleaner Equipped Robot,” has a 3D-printed nozzle equipped on each of its feet which allows it to suck up cigarettes. VERO uses a neural network to interpret visual data from the robot’s onboard cameras. Once it detects a butt, it then quickly runs a calculation to determine the best way to angle itself to vacuum the butts. In theory, a VERO could be deployed on public beaches or other outdoor areas where people tend to flick their spent smokes. Humans don’t have the best track record when it comes to showing kindness to robots. There’s a long history of engineers and everyday people, kicking, , and with cold-hearted detachment. But one researcher from Radboud University Nijmegen named Marieke Wieringa wanted to see if that same dynamic would play out if the robots being tortured could scream out in pain. In an experiment, she has people . In some cases, nothing more would happen but other times the robot would emit a pitiful whimpering sound from its speakers. An artificial pair of eyes would attempt to convey sadness. The human subjects are more likely to feel guilty when the robot cries out. In an additional experiment, Wieringa gave subjects the option of performing a boring task or shaking the robot. The crying robot was a decisive factor in whether people performed the task or not. “Most people had no problem shaking a silent robot, but as soon as the robot began to make pitiful sounds, they chose to do the boring task instead,” Wieringa said in a statement. There’s still no compelling evidence that machines are “conscious” or “sentient” in the way a human is but that hasn’t stopped many from running with the idea. In one of the odder, more esoteric examples of this, artists asked an AI-enabled humanoid robot what type of painting it would hypothetically make in relation to the phrase “AI for Good.” The robot, called Ai-Da, . The robot created multiple portraits which were later called “AI God.” The painter robot was created by Oxford University researchers and the robotics company, Engineered Arts. It captures images using front-facing cameras and then uses onboard graphics algorithms to generate images. A pair or robotic arms controlling paintbrushes then translates those generated images onto paper. Whether you personally appreciate the work or not, someone found it compelling. AI God this year following a bidding war between 27 people. Robots designed to resemble humans already have a tendency to make some people feel uncomfortable. Researchers from the University of Tokyo took that uneasy feeling to the next level, however, by creating lab-grown “skin” bioengineered from human cells. They then . The result is an utterly horrifying, pink, goopy blob. If that wasn’t enough, they also used mechanical actuators to make it look like the pink slop was smiling. Mind-controlling mushrooms might not be as unlikely as it may sound. Earlier this year, researchers from Cornell University and the University of Florence in Italy demonstrated how could cause movements in a starfish shaped connected robot. In a nutshell, the team would shine the mycelium (which naturally doesn’t like light) with flashing UV strobes. The reaction from the fungus to the light would then trigger the squishy robot to move its leg. The mycelium, in other words, was controlling the robot’s “brain.” In practical terms, researchers believe these kinds of robotic biohybrids could one day analyze agricultural fields on their own to monitor for potentially harmful changes in soil chemistry. Human-looking bipedal robots are becoming increasingly popular, with several companies including Tesla collectively spending billions to make them a reality. But it’s still not entirely clear what they will end up doing. Supporters say they could work in factories, perform dangerous tasks, or even do your laundry. One humanoid robot company called Unitree recently showed off different use cases: . In a , the company showed its oddly flexible ‘G1 Humanoid Agent’ contouring itself into pretzel shapes and performing a variety of seemingly useful and semi-useful tasks. At one point, a researcher straps on a red boxing glove and gives the robot a few hefty jabs to the chest. It stumbles but never falls. Robots are getting . But just like human doctors, robots also can’t just operate on humans without practice. In an odd example this year, scientists taught this surgical robot to use a small pair of tweezer-like grabbers to . If that doesn’t sound all that impressive on its own, consider that the robots were able to perform this test surgery after simply analyzing prior video footage from real medical experts. The researchers behind the robot were surprised at just how well their training method, which is similar to the process powering large language models like ChatGPT, worked in practice. “All we need is image input and then this AI system finds the right action,” postdoctoral researcher Ji Woong Kim said. “We find that even with a few hundred demos, the model is able to learn the procedure and generalize new environments it hasn’t encountered.” Researchers from Google DeepMind actually realized the dream of many sports-living kids: . Using deep reinforcement learning, the researchers were able to train a pair of robots in simulations on soccer-related training data. This process is similar to the way DeepMind previously trained AI models to beat humans at games like Chess, Go, and . But unlike those cases, the researchers now had to apply those learning to a physical robot body. It took some time but eventually, the pair of robots were able to dribble, defend, and even shoot goals though not without the occasional tumble here and there. The Large Hadron Collider in Geneva is the source of important scientific discoveries but it’s also exceptionally dangerous. The powerful particle accelerator smashes protons at nearly the speed of light which results in radiation. That radiation is harmful to humans, but not to robots. Scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) realized that and specifically designed to crawl and scurry its way through otherwise impenetrable areas of the facility. Once inside, the Good Boy could autonomously patrol and monitor for signs of fires or other potentially dangerous hazards. No one has made a bigger name for themselves by than Boston Dynamics. The company repeated that trend this year with its new, smaller Atlas humanoid robot. In a demonstration of its practical abilities this year, the company released a video of it grabbing and moving engine covers, all autonomous. And because it was Halloween, it did all this while wearing a hot dog outfit. Just a month later Atlas made another festive appearance, . In that video, Atlas performed a slightly terrifying backflip reminiscent of its older, beefier predecessor. It’s unclear what the practical application of robot backflips is, but they certainly are memorable.
Ethan Taylor scores 21 as Air Force takes down Mercyhurst 82-48
Shoppers rush to buy 'timeless and elegant' watch that doesn't need batteries as ultimate Christmas giftSaturday, December 21, 2024 Lufthansa Group is advancing its commitment to sustainability and efficiency with an expanded order for Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. Increasing its firm commitment from 10 to 15 jets, the Group plans to integrate these state-of-the-art planes into its fleet between 2028 and 2030. This $2 billion USD investment underscores Lufthansa’s dedication to fleet modernization and environmental responsibility. Upon delivery, the airline will operate a total of 75 A350 aircraft, comprising 60 A350-900s and 15 A350-1000s, solidifying its position as one of the largest A350 customers worldwide. The A350-1000’s advanced technology reduces fuel consumption and emissions by 25% compared to older models, supporting Lufthansa’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Beyond sustainability, the A350-1000 is designed to enhance the passenger experience. With spacious cabins, advanced air filtration systems, and ergonomic seating across all classes, the aircraft offers travelers a quieter and more comfortable journey. This fleet expansion not only reflects Lufthansa Group’s operational ambitions but also its vision to lead the aviation industry into a sustainable future. By investing in cutting-edge technology, Lufthansa is setting new benchmarks for innovation and environmentally conscious air travel while maintaining its role as a global connector of people and destinations. Carsten Spohr , Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG: “Today’s order underscores our great confidence in our long-standing, close and successful partnership with Airbus. With the state-of-the-art A350 long-haul jets, we are accelerating the largest fleet modernization the Group has done so far. We are investing more than ever before to make air transport more sustainable, to achieve our CO2 reduction targets and at the same time offer our customers the highest level of comfort with a first-class travel experience. Including today’s order, the Lufthansa Group has ordered 770 aircraft from Airbus throughout its history and is proud to be the Airbus’ largest customer worldwide. With the upcoming integration of ITA Airways in January, the Airbus fleet of Lufthansa Group Airlines will grow by another 100 short- and long-haul aircraft.” New Aircraft: Key to Lufthansa Group’s CO2 Reduction Strategy The Lufthansa Group, with a current fleet of approximately 740 commercial aircraft, is implementing a long-term fleet strategy centered on premium quality, cost efficiency, and significant reductions in emissions. Following its latest order, the Group has around 250 new fuel-efficient aircraft on its order list, including 100 state-of-the-art long-haul jets. These advanced aircraft are set to replace less efficient, four-engine models such as the Boeing 747-400, Airbus A340-600, and Airbus A340-300, which are being gradually phased out. The new fleet additions are designed to consume up to 35% less fuel compared to their predecessors, resulting in significantly lower CO2 emissions. These measures are part of Lufthansa’s broader environmental commitment to halve its net CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 levels through reduction and compensation efforts, and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Among the highlights of its fleet modernization is the Airbus A350-1000, ten of which were ordered in March 2023. Deliveries for this fuel-efficient aircraft, which is 73.8 meters long and offers 15% more capacity than the A350-900, are scheduled to begin in April 2026. The new aircraft will play a pivotal role in achieving Lufthansa’s ambitious sustainability goals.In a cavernous warehouse north of New York City, a 16-foot robot outfitted with a cutting tool etched intricate grooves into a faceless marble head atop an alien-like torso. Water sprayed into the air as an image created with artificial intelligence entered the physical world. In February, during a three-month stint as OpenAI’s first artist in residence, Alexander Reben gained early access to the startup’s Sora text-to-video tool, which instantly generates videos up to a minute in length from written or spoken prompts. Reben, a technologist trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, used Nvidia’s neural radiance field technology to turn Sora’s AI-generated imagery into 3D models. The cutting tool, run by a small company called Monumental Labs, turned one of those into a 4-foot-tall sculpture carved from white Italian marble veined with black and gray. While many artists view AI as a threat to their livelihoods, Reben, whose residency ended in April, embraces it as a collaborator. “I got a closer view of how innovation happens within an AI company, and got a better idea of why it’s important to push the edges and try new things,” Reben, 39, said. Toward the end of the residency, he focused on a prototype system that turned photos of real objects into AI-generated images, poems and even short, satirical blurbs. His setup consisted of his phone, a Fujifilm Instax photo printer and another printer that spit out receipts and labels. A web browser-based system combined Reben’s code with a version of the large language model that powers ChatGPT. The “conceptual camera,” whose interface appeared on Reben’s phone screen, had 15 “modes.” One of them, which Reben calls “Silly AI Label Maker,” assigns a name to any item pictured. When he snapped an image of a yellow zinnia, for example, out popped a label designating the flower a “sunny puffball.” The vase containing the flower got a new name, too: “sunflower sipper.” Sunglasses became “shady peepers.” To demonstrate his conceptual camera, Reben held his phone above a rudimentary sketch of a face, a lone tear falling from each eye, alongside a shape that passed for a tree. Almost as quickly as he took the photo, an image sprang from a hand-held printer. The setup turned the drawing into a bizarre, AI-generated picture that blended the face and the tree into a tearful, ghoulish man with a neck and shoulders that looked like they had been carved from wood. OpenAI, which is based in San Francisco, says artists like Reben help it understand the potential of its AI tools. His projects “showed our technology in a new light, inspiring our teams to see the creative possibilities of what we’re building,” a spokesperson for the company said in an email. But Hugh Leeman, an art lecturer at universities such as Duke, Colorado State and Johns Hopkins, wonders if the residency is just a marketing move to appease artists who worry their work is being used to train AI systems without permission, payment or credit. Some are concerned that AI could alter the very nature of creativity. “From a company standpoint, they’re getting out ahead of the curve here,” Leeman said. “This is a mechanism of saying: ‘Look, we’ve always loved artists. In fact, we’ve worked with artists.’” But he is a fan of Reben. Leeman started researching his work after seeing it last year at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento, California. Leeman was most struck by the cheeky mischief — like the AI-generated snubs of the artist’s show that rotated on a wall display, declaring it, among other insults, a “masterstroke of blandness.” “It was both criticizing AI and criticizing him for using it,” Leeman said. “I thought, what a beautiful sense of humor and self-awareness on this that is very needed in the art world.” That humor comes through in Reben’s camera. One of its modes takes images and gives them an absurd twist: Imagine a battalion of tiny toy soldiers climbing a scone as if it were a hilly battlefield. Reben took a photo of sunglasses sitting on a table at his home in Berkeley, California. (He had set out those and other random objects for his demonstration.) The camera produced eight paragraphs under the headline “Local Sunglasses File Restraining Order Against Unrelenting Sun.” The overworked glasses, according to the text, are simply asking for more temperate working conditions: “a few clouds” now and then, or an “occasional overcast day.” “The sun has yet to respond to the allegations,” the passage continues. “Legal experts speculate that the solar defendant might struggle to appear in court given its 93-million-mile commute and busy schedule keeping the solar system in order.” Reben’s works, including some created during the OpenAI residency, are on view at the Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles. In December, they will appear as part of an exhibit by the Bitforms Gallery at Untitled Art, a contemporary art fair in Miami Beach. Reben said that he understood and empathized with the concerns roiling the artist community as AI evolved, but that new technologies always face growing pains. “There are different types of art,” he said, “and different reasons that art exists.” This article originally appeared in .
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes continues to build great chemistry with his tight end — just not the one you might think. Mahomes threw two touchdown passes to Noah Gray for the second straight week as the Kansas City Chiefs held off the Carolina Panthers 30-27 on Sunday. A week after losing at Buffalo, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (10-1) maintained their position atop the AFC. Mahomes completed a 35-yard touchdown strike to Gray on the game’s opening possession and found him again for an 11-yard TD in the second quarter. Gray has four touchdown catches in the last two weeks — twice as many as nine-time Pro Bowler Travis Kelce has all season — and has become a weapon in the passing game for the Chiefs, who lost top wide receiver Rashee Rice to a season-ending knee injury in Week 4. Kelce was still a factor Sunday with a team-high six catches for 62 yards, although the four-time All-Pro looked dejected after dropping one easy pass. Kelce has 62 receptions for 507 yards this season, while Gray has 26 catches for 249 yards. But Gray's development is a good sign for the Chiefs — and he's on the same page with Mahomes. On his second TD, Gray said Mahomes “gave me the answer to the test there” before the play. “He told me what coverage it was pre-snap," said Gray, who had four receptions for 66 yards. “That’s just the blessing you have of playing with a quarterback like that. Offensive line did a great job blocking that up and the receivers did a great job running their routes to pop me open. Really just a group effort right there on that touchdown.” Gray said that's nothing new. “Pat’s preparation, his leadership is just something that I’m fortunate enough to play alongside,” Gray said. "I love it. It gets me motivated every time we go out there for a long drive. Having a leader like that, that prepares every single week in-and out, knows defenses, knows the game plans. “I’m just fortunate enough to play alongside a guy like that.” Mahomes completed 27 of 37 passes for 269 yards and three TDs, and he knew what to do on the second TD to Gray. “It's not just me, it's the quarterback coaches and the players, we go through certain checks you get to versus certain coverages,” Mahomes said. “I was able to see by the way they lined up they were getting into their cover-zero look. I alerted the guys to make sure they saw what I saw and I gave the check at the line of scrimmage.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
US finally breaks silence over China’s sixth-generation fighter jet J-36, it could tilt power balance in favour of...
A trio of running backs recorded touchdowns to help Nebraska hold off Boston College's late rally for a 20-15 win in the Pinstripe Bowl on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Bronx, N.Y. New York native Rahmir Johnson scored the Cornhuskers' opening touchdown to highlight his 60-yard performance on 10 carries. His 11-yard run on fourth-and-1 before the two-minute timeout iced the game, lifting Nebraska (7-6) to its first winning season since 2016. Kwinten Ives also ran for a score and Emmett Johnson (team-high 68 rushing yards on 14 carries) caught one from freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who was 23 of 31 for 228 yards, one touchdown and one interception on the day. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule noted that Rahmir Johnson, the game's most valuable player, was playing after his mother died in November. "He loved his mother," Rhule said. "He lost his mother. He cares about this team. I think this is a fitting end for him. I hope he wears his pads home on the subway and goes to his apartment, takes that MVP trophy and takes it out tonight somewhere." Nebraska had a 20-2 lead before allowing its first touchdown with 6:11 left in regulation. Boston College (7-6) forced two first-half turnovers and finished five of its first seven drives inside the opposing 35-yard line, but the Eagles went 0-for-4 on fourth downs until Turbo Richard's 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Nebraska's first two punts turned into touchdowns for the Eagles, with the second being blocked and returned to the 2-yard line ahead of a Jordan McDonald score with 4:18 remaining. "Yeah, these guys fought hard," Boston College coach Bill O'Brien said. "We have a tough football team. They never quit. That's what BC is all about." Grayson James quarterbacked the Eagles, going 25 of 40 for a season-high 296 yards. He also rushed for 22. Lewis Bond made six catches for 94 yards. Jahmal Banks was Raiola's leading target, making four catches for 79 yards. After big plays went by the boards for both teams on their opening series, Raiola sent Nebraska on a 15-play, 75-yard drive to the opening touchdown four seconds into the second quarter. Following a third-down conversion in the red zone, Rahmir Johnson scored on a 4-yard run before John Hohl's PAT made it 7-0. After Boston College was unable to convert on Josiah Griffin's recovery of an Emmett Johnson fumble, an ensuing fourth-down penalty gave Nebraska new life and the Cornhuskers turned it into Ives' 2-yard score with 3:39 before halftime. Ashton McShane's 88-yard blocked PAT return got the Eagles on the board at 13-2, though. Nebraska's first drive out of halftime included two fakes from punter/holder Brian Buschini, including a successful fake field goal. On the following series, Raiola's 13-yard pass to Emmett Johnson out of the backfield resulted in a 20-2 lead with 3:02 left in the third. "Dylan, for us to have a chance, you're going to have to play well," Rhule said. "Everyone else has to do the same thing, but that last drive, for us to win the game, he had to go play well." Richard punched in the first Boston College touchdown. James' two-point conversion pass attempt failed. Buschini's second punt was blocked by Victor Nelson Jr. and returned to the 2-yard line by Omar Thornton, setting up McDonald's run and a Liam Connor PAT. "I think we have a bright future at Boston College," O'Brien said. "Today didn't go the way we wanted it to go, but today could have got really ugly. It really could have because Nebraska, they did a good job. But our guys hung in there. They fought, and I have nothing but good things -- very proud of our effort today." --Field Level Media
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