Latest news with #SDCC
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Can you still get San Diego Comic-Con tickets? What to know about badges, resellers
San Diego Comic-Con is just around the corner and badges for this year's beloved convention have already sold out, but consumers may be wondering if they can get their hands on resell tickets, even if they're at a higher price. San Diego Comic-Con runs Thursday, July 24 through Sunday, July 27 at the San Diego Convention Center. A-list celebrities and filmmakers attending this year's convention include George Lucas, Guillermo del Toro, Ryan Gosling, Elle Fanning and James Gunn. Tickets, or badges, as the convention calls them, are already sold out for this year. While third-parties and resellers may be promoting last-minute sales, San Diego Comic-Con informs that valid badges can only be purchased through the convention website. Here's what consumers need to know about purchasing official San Diego Comic-Con badges. More SDCC: George Lucas, father of 'Star Wars,' to head panel at San Diego Comic-Con Can you buy San Diego Comic-Con badges from resellers? Valid badges can only be purchased from the San Diego Comic-Con website and are non-transferable, the convention website states. Badges are "security printed and are personal to the badge holder only," the website adds. Badges purchased from third parties or resellers are invalid. To purchase a valid badge, consumers must create a unique San Diego Comic-Con Member ID. Even if purchasing badges for multiple people, each individual must have their own Member ID. If a friend buys a badge to San Diego Comic-Con, can they transfer it to me? No. San Diego Comic-Con badges are non-transferable. Can you refund San Diego Comic-Con badges? Yes, the convention offers refunds. However, the deadline for this year to refund badges has passed. How to get a San Diego Comic Con badge for 2026 Badges for new and returning San Diego Comic Con attendees open in the fall before the upcoming year's convention. Returning attendees receive access to badges before new ones. For example, last year, badge sales opened for returning attendees in September and sales for new attendees opened in November, according to the convention website. Keep an eye on the SDCC website later this summer to learn about the 2026 schedule. This year, tickets ranged between $60-80 per day for adults. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
Hype Malaysia
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hype Malaysia
M'sian Comic Artist Akmal 'Kucha' Aziz Shares About The Time He Met MCR's Gerard Way
Not anyone can say that they met a global superstar by chance – but this Malaysian can! Local comic artist and animator Akmal 'Kucha' Aziz recently dropped a 'lore' about himself involving My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way! Earlier this week, Twitter users have been sharing interesting anecdotes about themselves as part of a Twitter trend. Akmal jumped on the bandwagon, sharing an interesting anecdote about himself from San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2012. According to the director of 'Didi And Friends The Movie', the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) has sponsored him and a few other Malaysian comic artists to attend the event. While at SDCC, the group set up a booth, sold comics, attended panels and networked. However, on one of the days they were there, the group saw a familiar face sitting alone in the lounge area. After Googling the individual on the search engine, the group confirmed that the familiar face was none other than My Chemical Romance co-founder and frontman Gerard Way. As the group greeted him, the singer invited them to sit and chat. Akmal also shared a photo he took with Gerard at the event. Responding to comments, the Malaysian revealed what the group chatted about with the singer. The comic artist explained that Gerard was at SDCC to promote his two comic book series, 'The Umbrella Academy' and 'The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys'. During the same event, the musician also held a signing for 'Killjoys', which he recently released. Gerard also had an excited response when the group revealed that they were from Malaysia, saying that MCR once performed in Kuala Lumpur. Many local netizens have since reacted to Akmal's anecdote, mostly expressing shock at the casual meeting. Some also expressed envy towards Akmal and the group of Malaysians, noting that the moment was a rare chance. Others also took the opportunity to share some MCR-themed puns. We also agree with the rest that Akmal's meeting with Gerard Way was enviable, to say the least. Perhaps the group of local comic artists can have a reunion with the star when he returns to Malaysia next April for MCR's concert in KL. Source: Twitter
Express Tribune
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Hulu drops first trailer for 'The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball' reboot after 6-year hiatus
After six years off air, The Amazing World of Gumball returns with a new title, The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball. Hulu has released the first official trailer, offering a chaotic preview filled with visual experimentation and offbeat comedy. The trailer begins with Gumball declaring he was never gone—just preparing something bigger. It features meta-humour, wild 2D and 3D animation blends, and scenes involving virtual reality, animated burgers, and tentacles emerging from other dimensions. Gumball and Darwin reintroduce themselves to schoolmates like mythic figures, launching into scenes involving a haunted car, a living Necronomicon, and what appears to be a heart mascot under attack. The Watterson family will also face off against a sinister fast food empire and an AI obsessed with their mother, all rendered through a mix of CGI, puppetry, stop-motion, and live action. The reboot features new voice actors for Gumball, Darwin, and Anais—Alkaio Thiele, Hero Hunter, and Kinza Syed Khan—while original voices Teresa Gallagher and Dan Russell return as Nicole and Richard. Series creator Ben Bocquelet returns as executive producer alongside Matt Layzell and Erik Fountain. The creative team promises surreal 15-minute episodes packed with layered humour and unpredictable storylines. Fans can catch the SDCC panel on July 26 at the San Diego Convention Center, with the show premiering on Hulu in the US on July 28.
The Hill
13-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Student loan borrowers navigate new landscape as options dwindle under Trump
Student loan borrowers' options are dwindling and time is not on their side as the Trump administration turns up the heat to get all borrowers back in repayment. The recently passed 'big, beautiful bill' will take the bevy of choices away from borrowers by 2028, leaving only two options for repayment. Those on the Biden administration's Saving on Valuable Education (SAVE) plan who have been in forbearance have even less time, with interest accrual restarting next month. Student loan advocates are encouraging borrowers to reach out for help in understanding their options as they fear many will not be able to afford their monthly repayment plans with the plans left for them. 'It feels like a flood-the-zone type situation where confusion is part of the intent,' said Natalia Abrams, president of the Student Debt Crisis Center (SDCC), adding, 'the hits just keep coming.' The slate of changes rolled out, she said, 'feels reckless in terms of treatment towards student loan borrowers and for Americans at large.' After years of pauses, on-ramps and forbearances from the start of the pandemic in President Trump's first term through the Biden administration, the White House is now requiring all borrowers to begin repaying their loans by the end of Trump's second. The millions of borrowers on the SAVE plan have been in forbearance with no interest since that Biden program was ruled illegal by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year. The SAVE plan made it so some borrowers had to pay as low as $0 a month. The government said those in the SAVE plan will have to switch to a different option for payments to start counting towards their loan forgiveness, but people can stay in the plan and just pay interest potentially until summer 2026. An analysis from the Student Borrower Protection Center found the typical borrower will pay more than $3,500 in interest charges per year due to the policy change. The decision to switch out of the plan by Aug. 1 or just pay the interest is a personal one. 'Every single borrower's financial situation is so different. For borrowers who are truly unable to afford to make payments, remaining on the SAVE forbearance might be their best option,' said Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director for the Student Borrower Protection Center. 'But for borrowers who are on the SAVE forbearance' but want to take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, 'it's been our advice that folks should try to get off of SAVE so that they can begin making payments and begin earning credit towards' forgiveness, she added. Experts also advise those leaving SAVE to wait until the Aug. 1 deadline so the interest is taken care of 'throughout the entire month of July' and a borrower does not get on the hook for it with a new plan, Abrams said. Over the next three years, all borrowers will be forced into the two repayment options that were passed under Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' The act only leaves borrowers with a standard repayment plan, which includes 10-25 years of repayments depending on the loan amount, and a new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), which takes into account a person's income but lengthens the amount of time spent on repayment. RAP is 'based on their income. Low-income borrowers can make payments as low as $10 a month, but unlike past income driven repayment plans, they're going to have to repay on their loans for longer. The span soon will be 30 years … So [the department is] making things simpler, they're trying to make things easier and they're trying to prevent students from being burdened with excessive debt,' said Angela Morabito, spokesperson for the Defense of Freedom Institute. The Trump administration and conservatives argue the policy changes are 'compassionate,' saying borrowers agreed to these loans and have to pay them back. 'No one should be panicking over this. This is a really thoughtful and strategic and compassionate way to try and solve the student loan crisis that the past administration, quite frankly, made so much worse,' Morabito said. 'The fact of the matter is, whenever you take out a loan, no matter what loan it is, you agree to pay it back. Borrowers made that agreement. They need to pay their loans back. They've had a long break, if anything, should make repayment easier that they've had so much time to plan and prepare,' she added. 'But if anyone was under the impression that they would just never have to pay loans back, that's because they were lied to by people who don't have the best interests of students and taxpayers at heart.' Others advocates, however, predict the changes will devastate some borrowers, with more defaults on the horizon and misinformation making it hard to navigate the situation. One of the biggest concerns for borrowers is the backlog of almost 2 million applications for the income-driven repayment programs as the administration pushes students to sign up for these options. The backlog began under the Biden administration, and resumption of application processing only restarted in April of this year. 'The Biden Administration failed to process income-driven repayment applications for borrowers, artificially masking rising delinquency and default rates and promising illegal student loan forgiveness to win points with voters. The Trump Administration is actively working with federal student loan servicers and hopes to clear the Biden backlog over the next few months,' said Ellen Keast, deputy press secretary for the Education Department. Student loan advocates are encouraging borrowers to reach out to nonprofit organizations and the federal government when figuring out their next steps, as scams abound. Even experts on the issue have struggled to understand the new landscape as the federal government said other student loan repayment options will phase out between the summer of 2026 and the summer of 2028, but it isn't clear what those two years will look like for borrowers or when it would be most advantageous for borrowers to leave their current plans. 'Borrowers are feeling so much anxiety right now. The bill makes ginormous changes to our student loan system. It very much feels like there's no clear answer on what borrowers can or should be doing right now,' Bañez said. While those advocating for broader student loan forgiveness don't see much cause for hope under the Trump administration, they were encouraged the GOP legislation did not take away the future possibility of debt relief, potentially under a different administration. 'The only other small silver lining … is they were able to get rid of the piece [in the Senate bill] where they were trying to take away the secretary's ability to cancel student loans or make big changes to the student loan program. That got thrown out in the bird bath and so … [there is] a little bit of hope that we can pull to actually change these very bad policies that have been done' in the future, Abrams said.
Irish Independent
11-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Full details of €20m Lucan House park project revealed
The master plan would transform the old house and surrounding forested lands into a flagship park project for SDCC, which acquired the 30-acre site last year from the Italian government for around €10m. A spokesperson for SDCC said the plans would balance 'heritage conservation, environmental protection, and community use' within a 'much-loved landscape'. Following extensive community involvement through workshops and online submissions, existing structures such as the manor house and stables will be upgraded. Once works are complete, the main Lucan House will be opened for events and exhibitions on the ground floor, while the first floor will have co-working spaces, a lounge area and various community and heritage uses. A boathouse and storage area will be constructed in the basement of the building, which sits alongside the river Liffey. A natural amphitheatre will be created near the main house, overlooking the river, along with a new 200-person capacity pavilion on the rear west lawn, for events too large for the main house. Stables on site will also be renovated, with retail and a café proposed on the ground floor with space for 60 people. Two gate lodges, to be refurbished as part of the works, will contain public toilets and a security office. The project will also link to the nearby St Catherine's Park with a new set of trails, and is set to include a 95-space car park on the eastern end of the site with a new car access proposed. It will also have several picnic areas, with riverside walking trails and forest play zones dotted throughout. Chief executive of SDCC, Colm Ward, said: 'This project is a flagship for sustainable, community-led regeneration. 'It responds directly to what we heard during extensive consultations: people want open access, heritage experiences, vibrant cultural programming, and a beautiful natural setting.' Initial costings for the plan, which will be carried out in phases, are estimated at €20m. Funding for the scheme will be provided by the Government and the EU under the ERDF Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Programme 2021 to 2027. In a recent briefing, the council said priority works would begin in the second quarter of next year and main construction would last until 2028. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
