San Diego: TGIF!
It's Day 2 of Comic-Con, and that means yet another chapter full of fun, awesome costumes, and great weather for San Diego's biggest event of the year.
Speaking of weather: Meteorologist Megan Parry has the microclimate forecasts for Friday and the great conditions you can expect for this weekend.
Plus, consumer reporter Marie Coronel has the details on a new state program aimed at helping California drivers deal with expensive air conditioning repairs.
Jump-start your Friday (and your weekend) with our morning newsletter!
TOP STORY:
SAN DIEGO (CNS) - San Diego Comic-Con International will continue Friday with major panels inside the convention and free events scattered through Downtown and the Gaslamp Quarter.
STARZ will double-dip into the "Outlander" series, with panels on both "Outlander" and "Outlander: Blood of my Blood" in the San Diego Convention Center's cavernous Hall H.
"Join the cast and creative team as they take a look back at the legacy of "Outlander" and its impact on the television landscape over the past 11 years, and offer a sneak peek at the upcoming eighth and final season, a STARZ statement reads. Sam Heughan, one of the series' stars ("Jamie Fraser") will be on the panel.
Other Hall H events include "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon," "Stephen King's The Long Walk," "Predator: Badlands" and "TRON: Ares."
The eighth season of "Rick and Morty" and the return of "King of the Hill" will have panels in the Indigo Ballroom, and "Better Call Saul" star Bob Odenkirk, who also stars in the upcoming "Nobody 2," will have a question and answer session with Collider in Ballroom 20.
Outside the convention center, Anime fans can head to the Rady Shell for two free days of music, vendors and more. Crunchyroll Anime FanFest will feature "anime-inspired music," including a lineup on day one which "blends iconic talent from Japan's music scene with global, anime inspired music, from electronic to alternative rock." Featured artists Friday include SPYAIR, yama, ASH DA HERO, Slushii, Magnolia Park, Hyper Potions and more.
Day two will feature a hip-hop and R&B focused lineup, including Denzel Curry, INIKO, Pink Pablo, ALI, Yaeji, Taku Takahashi x Alenoise and NOODLES.
The event will also host exclusive artist and anime merchandise pop- ups, giveaways and the "Activations Crosswalk," which is set to feature "immersive experiences from anticipated anime series including "Gachiakuta" and the return of "Kaiju No. 8" and "The Rising of the Shield Hero," a Crunchyroll statement reads.
COMIC-CON 2025 COVERAGE:
- Fans bring multiverse to life for day one of Comic-Con 2025
- Comic-Con 2025 set to kick off in a year that some major superheroes are sitting out
- Comic-Con 2025 launches with Preview Night
- No badge needed: Offsites for San Diego Comic-Con 2025
- Bars, restaurants celebrate Comic-Con with themed menus
- Comic Con preparations underway as San Diego's biggest summer event approaches
Mayor Todd Gloria was joined by city, convention center and Comic-Con leaders on Wednesday to officially welcome people to the event.
"Comic-Con is San Diego's annual blockbuster -- filled with action, imagination, and a massive supporting cast," Gloria said. "I love the costumes, the creativity, and the cultural energy it brings -- along with the tax dollars that come in when visitors enjoy themselves in our city.
"Because when out-of-towners dine, shop and stay in hotels, San Diegans get smoother roads, better parks, and improved city services. That's a Hollywood ending for everyone."
Comic-Con 2025 is expected to attract tens of thousands of attendees over its run, generating a regional impact of more than $160 million, which includes both direct and indirect spending by visitors. Attendees alone are expected to spend $96.8 million directly, according to the mayor's office.
Event organizers have agreed to stay in San Diego -- where Comic-Con has been held nearly every year since 1970 -- through 2027. In 2022, Comic-Con welcomed more than 135,000 attendees and generated $3 million in hotel and sales tax revenue for the city, according to city documents.
The convention shuttered for two years during the coronavirus pandemic and Comic-Con International received more than $2.5 million in Payment Protection Plan loans, all of which have been forgiven.
Comic-Con is the largest comic book and popular-arts convention in the world, with more than 460,000 square feet of exhibit floor space and more than 1,000 exhibitors each year. Additionally, more than 2,000 hours of panels, workshops and events are attached to the convention, not to mention dozens of activities and pop-ups outside the Convention Center.
Story by City News Service
MICROCLIMATE FORECASTS:
Coasts
Inland
Mountains
Deserts
BREAKING OVERNIGHT:
A brush fire in the Campo area that prompted evacuation warnings Thursday afternoon was stopped by firefighters before it spread further.
The blaze dubbed the Posta Fire erupted at around 12 p.m. off La Posta Road, near the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Cal Fire officials.
Due to the fire’s speed and proximity to structures, evacuation warnings were issued as multiple crews responded.
After nearly two hours, firefighters on the ground and in the air stopped the fire’s forward rate of spread.
Evacuation warnings were lifted shortly thereafter, and as of late Thursday night, the Posta Fire had burned at least 23 acres and was 50% contained.
No injuries or structural damage were reported.
The cause of the blaze is unknown.
CONSUMER:
California drivers facing costly air conditioning repairs may have new financial relief through a program designed to help cover expenses.
WATCH — Consumer reporter Marie Coronel gives details on the state's Cool Air Rebate Program, which can reimburse up to 90 percent of the costs associated with repairing a leaky AC unit:
WE FOLLOW THROUGH:
It’s a government-run food program that helps families feed their kids during the summer, when children don’t have access to school meals.
But as ABC 10News anchor Melissa Mecija looked closer into the SUN Bucks EBT program, she discovered fraud that came from within.
SUN Bucks cards are part of a program facilitated through the California Department of Social Services. Under the program, each eligible child – usually from lower-income families – receives $120 in food benefits.
In 2024, ABC 10News spoke to a San Diego woman who said her SUN Bucks cards were drained before she even had a chance to use them. She found out her three cards were used online at Walmart locations in Texas.
“We were really looking forward to having the cards because normally the kids went to school, they had their breakfast and their lunch. While they weren't in school, it's a little bit more difficult,” Jessica Franks told ABC 10News in an August 2024 interview.
At the time, Melissa spoke to a Department of Social Services spokesperson about how much fraud there was connected to the cards. The spokesperson said they did not have specifics because the program was new.
This year, Melissa followed up with the department, and a spokesperson said that in July 2024 they became aware of what it called a “fraud scheme” involving employees of a contractor hired to operate a SUN Bucks call center.
ABC 10News learned 507 SUN Bucks cards were a part of this data breach from July 2024.
Families were notified through a letter that stated employees “improperly accessed case information,” including the child’s name, address, birthdate, card number and EBT account number.
According to the department, the contractor involved was Foundation for California Community Colleges.
Melissa reached out to the organization, and a spokesperson said that the employees involved were “terminated” and “law enforcement was promptly notified.”
According to the foundation, “There were no additional incidents.”
The foundation’s full statement: “We did identify that some benefits were affected due to actions taken by a few FoundationCCC employees. As soon as the unauthorized activity was identified, FoundationCCC took immediate action to revoke access to the EBT system and terminated the involved employees. Law enforcement was promptly notified and made aware of the incident. Children whose benefits were impacted as a result of these actions by the former FoundationCCC employees had their benefits replaced last year. There were no additional incidents, and we took further steps to prevent recurrence.”
In total, $60,840 in funds were reimbursed to families – paid for by the contractor.
As far as total fraud within the SUN Bucks program, the Department of Social Services told ABC 10News of more than 5.6 million cards issued in 2024, only the 507 cards were involved and there was no other identified fraud.
Watch Melissa’s Aug. 2024 story:
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