San Diego Comic-Con is world-renowned not only for its headline-grabbing panels focused on the latest in pop culture but also for its captivating cosplayers who steal the spotlight with stunning creativity. Each year, the convention draws enthusiasts eager to see both beloved and new interpretations of iconic characters.

Devoted fans of comics, video games, movies, and fantasy genres dedicate months to constructing meticulously detailed costumes that pay homage to their favorite heroes and villains, showcasing a blend of passion and craftsmanship.

Take Sarah Lu, for instance. At 27, having recently relocated to San Diego, she undertook the challenging task of crafting a costume of Toothless, the beloved dragon from DreamWorks’ “How to Train Your Dragon.” Starting her project in January, Sarah invested approximately $400 to bring her vision to life.

“For me, cosplay is where theater, music, and dance converge. I harness all these elements to animate a character. There’s something truly magical about that process,” she expressed to Reuters while mingling on the busy convention floor.

Some cosplays capture the hearts of Comic-Con attendees, becoming instant crowd favorites, while others quietly contribute to the vibrant tapestry of the event. Regardless of the attention they receive, each costume adds another layer to the energetic atmosphere of the convention.

San Diego resident Jose Samaniego, 21, said success often comes down to attitude.

“Be confident in yourself,” he said. “If you’re not confident in your own cosplay you’re going to give off a really bad aura and no-one’s going to like you. If you don’t like how you’re dressing, then your outfit’s awful,” he added.

With Comic-Con taking place during the summer, cosplayers in intricate outfits must also contend with the heat.

“‘How do you stay cool?’ Hydrate, hydrate and hydrate,” said David Martinez, 54, a project manager for a pharmaceutical company in San Diego, who attended dressed as a mashup of Spider-Man and the artist Bob Ross.

Despite months of preparation, costumes can malfunction.

Glue can soften in the heat, causing pieces to fall apart, while fabric can rip or tear.

That is where Bryan Mero, a costume repairperson passionate about helping attendees steps in.

Dressed as Fix-it Felix from the Disney animated film “Wreck-it Ralph,” Mero patrols the convention floor carrying a yellow hammer and a backpack filled with repair supplies.

Lu told Reuters that Mero is the real “MVP” of the entire convention.

“I come and bring a supply of anything we need to fix a cosplay; superglue, duct tape, safety pins, bobby pins, hairspray, hair ties, all different colors, all the main colors for that, a soldering iron, a hot glue gun. I know I’m missing quite a few things because my pack is about 15 pounds,” he said.

“That’s kind of what I provide and I do it for free only because I’m just asking to just pay it forward,” Mero added.

San Diego Comic-Con is an annual multi-genre entertainment and comic book convention that takes place in San Diego, California, and celebrates comics, popular culture, and related media.

Recent text messages between singer D4vd and a 14-year-old girl, whom he is accused of killing, have surfaced, shedding light on a past abortion the teenager underwent just over a year prior to her tragic death.

David Anthony Burke, known by his stage name D4vd, faces serious charges, including first-degree murder, continuous sexual abuse of a minor under 14, and mutilating human remains, all related to the death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

Burke has entered a plea of not guilty against all accusations set forth.

During a session at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, a text exchange came to light where Celeste posed the question to Burke, ‘What [if] the first abortion didn’t work?’

This conversation occurred in June 2024, as reported by the BBC, at a time when Celeste was just 13 and Burke was 19 years old.

In a separate message sent that month, Burke wrote: ‘Let’s let this abortion be the last one til we have the real one…’

About five months earlier, the musician had apologized to Celeste for ‘putting her through this,’ according to the messages shown in court.

‘Neither of us are capable of watching and taking care of the baby,’ the teen girl replied. ‘It’s for the best no?’

When Burke asked her if ‘it is mine,’ Celeste responded, ‘of course it’s yours David.’

In a separate chain, Celeste told Burke that she ‘took a innocent life of a literal baby,’ the Associated Press reported.

After she asked Burke if anyone knew that they were having sex, he replied, ‘nope and i want to keep it that way until we married.’

Los Angeles Police Detective Corey Farell testified that investigators confirmed the teenager had an abortion in January 2024, according to LAmag.

Data recovered from Burke’s iPhone and presented by prosecutors showed that texts between him and Celeste dated back to August 8, 2022, when she was 11 and he was 17.

Some of the conversations, taken from Burke’s iCloud account, discussed contraception and pregnancy.

Burke’s phone also contained photos of Celeste during the alleged sexual abuse, Farell said on Friday.

Farell testified that Burke’s lock screen featured an image of the two embracing while topless, per the outlet.

He added that investigators had found sexually explicit photographs and videos on the device which prosecutors used to illustrate an alleged sexual relationship between Burke and Celeste.

According to Farell, the footage appeared to have been recorded inside Burke’s bedroom.

The content found on the device allegedly included the teen and the singer naked and in sexual acts, plus close-up photos of their genitals.

The sexually explicit footage was not shown in court, but it was described by Farell.

This prompted Celeste’s parents to leave the courtroom, with the teen girl’s mother, Mercedes Martinez, sobbing as she left.

Prosecutor Beth Silverman told the family, ‘I’m sorry,’ according to the outlet.

Burke was mostly expressionless while Farell testified. He continued staring forward as Celeste’s mom exited, according to LAmag.

The court also heard that Burke and Celeste had discussed a plan for the teen to run away from home and live with the singer around February 2024.

Their plan was dubbed ‘Operation Awesome,’ according to conversations on Burke’s phone.

One of the times that Celeste was reported missing was that month, prosecutors have said. She returned home on that occasion before her eventual death.

According to the texts shown in court, Burke and Celeste ‘broke up’ in November 2024 but stayed in contact afterwards.

The preliminary trial brief alleged that Burke ‘continued to manipulate’ Celeste into March 2025.

‘All we do is have sex and just hang out man I want more than that for myself,’ she texted him, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said that texts from April 22 of that year showed how Celeste became jealous over Burke’s relationship with other women, the brief said.

She then ‘threatened to disclose damaging information about her relationship with defendant to end his career and destroy his life,’ the document continued.

Burke was set to release his first studio album and had an ’emerging multi-million-dollar career already in progress’ at stake, prosecutors said. 

He allegedly sent an Uber to take Celeste from her family’s Lake Elsinore home to his rental in the Hollywood Hills the following night around 10.10pm.

The singer allegedly stabbed Celeste to death multiple times and stood by while she bled out, according to the filing.

Burke has pleaded not guilty to murder, sexual abuse of a child and mutilation of a body.

His preliminary hearing, which will determine whether there is enough evidence to bring the case to trial, will continue on Monday.

Burke allegedly amputated Celeste’s left finger, which contained a tattoo of his name, according to the preliminary brief.

Prosecutors claim he placed her body into the front trunk of his Tesla, which he parked on the street around the corner from his Doheny Place rental.

Celeste’s body was not found until September 8, when the car was towed and the Los Angeles Police Department received complaints about a foul odor coming from the vehicle.

Burke was arrested by the LAPD on April 16 and has been held without bail since.

The United States is weighing the option of launching airstrikes against terrorists linked to al Qaeda in Mali, as suggested by regional experts and recent media insights.

Since a series of coups in 2020 and 2021, a military junta has taken control of Mali, a nation in the Sahel region of West Africa. Seeking new alliances, the junta distanced itself from Western nations like France and the U.S., opting instead for military backing from Russia and its Africa Corps mercenaries in their battle against jihadist factions.

Among these insurgent groups, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) stands out as a significant threat, currently laying siege to Mali’s capital. The group, in collaboration with another faction, has been implicated in the deaths of 50 Malian soldiers this month alone and the killing of the country’s defense minister earlier this year. Notably, they have forced Russian battalions to withdraw on at least two separate occasions this year.

JNIM harbors ambitions of transforming Mali into an Islamist Jihadist state, which, if realized, would mark it as the first nation in the world under jihadist regime control. The group was officially labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2018 during the initial Trump administration.

Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist groups are also operating freely in Mali, and are linked to terror groups in neighboring Nigeria.

A State Department official didn’t respond to a Washington Post report that the U.S. is considering strikes against JNIM in Mali, but used strong language Thursday when talking to News Media, leading analysts to suggest the time for talking may be over.

“The United States unequivocally condemns the terrorist activity in Mali,” the official said, adding, “in the Sahel, the United States is committed to promoting regional ownership and cooperation against terrorist threats, and monitoring indicators and warnings of threats to our homeland.”

Edmund Fitton-Brown, a former British and United Nations diplomat, said the U.S. could order military action, to primarily try and stop jihadists becoming entrenched in Mali. Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told News Media, “Mali is mainly important to the U.S. because, as a failed state becoming a safe haven for al Qaeda and ISIS, it looks like the first of several African dominoes likely to fall.”

Retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Kenneth P. Ekman, who until last year, served as the Department of War’s West Africa Coordination Element lead, said that with strike action the administration may be able to persuade Mali’s rulers to turn away from Russia, and towards the U.S. for protection – and purchases of military equipment.

Ekman told News Media, “JNIM has a stranglehold on the government and much of the population. The Russians are woefully ineffective and extractive. Cooperation with U.S. forces offers a disproportionate and positive impact.”

Ekman said that U.S. forces have supported partner-led operations against JNIM before, as recently as 2022, adding “⁠recent proposals amount to returning to similar cooperation against a mutual threat.”

The administration may also be in a minerals frame of mind. Mali is one of Africa’s largest gold-producing nations. It also has substantial deposits of lithium, used extensively in rechargeable batteries.

Fitton-Brown said that “President Trump may be less reluctant than his predecessor to work with the juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, if they are losing faith in their Russian friends.”

He continued, “The U.S. is certainly a more capable partner. France has already been displaced, so all three countries might accept U.S. help if it comes only with strings attached that don’t offend or disadvantage them. Whether even the U.S. is capable of stopping the political decline of these countries, and the rise of militant Islam, is another matter. That cannot be achieved by military force alone.”

The FDD’s Fitton-Brown said U.S. assets such as aircraft may not be directly involved if there is a strike, “The U.S. might work with French and other intelligence services to develop local intelligence for strikes on JNIM leadership, but this is unlikely to achieve much. The organization is resilient and will be able to replace those killed.”

A former senior Department of War official told News Media the U.S. has at its disposal cruise missiles and long-range bombers. Attack drones would probably not come into play, and the U.S. Naval Institute’s Fleet Tracker shows no American aircraft carriers anywhere near African waters, effectively ruling out carrier operations.

However, Ekman believes airstrikes are under consideration, noting “JNIM and ISIS are a threat to U.S. interests, and are ascendant in West Africa.”