Atlantic City’s casinos, New Jersey horse tracks that take sports bets, and their online partners won over half a billion dollars from gamblers in July, up 5.3% from a year earlier

On recent ‘Today’ broadcast, special guest Jon Batiste surprised Al Roker as he served up a birthday cake and snacks to the hosts on live TV

Barbie director Greta Gerwig has responded to the torrent of hate that rightwingers in the US have directed at the film, saying it’s “an invitation for everybody to be part of the party”. Speaking to the New York Times, Gerwig was asked if she had anticipated the degree of woke-bashing that rightwing critics have engaged in since the film came out, with some calling it a “man-hating” movie. Gerwig said: “Certainly, there’s a lot of passion. My hope for the movie is that it’s an invitation for everybody to be part of the party and let go of the things that aren’t necessarily serving us as either women or men.” She added: “I hope that in all of that passion, if they see it or engage with it, it can give them some of the relief that it gave other people.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Barbie’s feminist themes have sparked rage from influencers like Ben Shapiro, who made a bizarre Youtube video last week in which he burned Barbie dolls. Ginger Luckey Gaetz, wife of Republican congressman Matt Gaetz, said the movie “neglects to address any notion of faith or family, and tries to normalise the idea that men and women can’t collaborate positively”. Gerwig also responded to criticism that Mattel, which owns the Barbie doll range and executive produced the movie, interfered in the production creatively, in a scene where a character described the dolls as “sexist and fascist”. She said: “It wasn’t like I ever got the full seal of approval from [Mattel], like, ‘We love it!’ I got a tentative, ‘Well, OK. I see that you are going to do this, so go ahead and we’ll see how it goes.’ “But that’s all you need, and I had faith once it was in there and they saw it that they would embrace it, not fight it. Maybe at the end of the day, my will to have it in was stronger than any other will to take it out.” The backlash has been strong, but the support has been stronger, with Barbie already breaking the record for the highest-ever opening weekend for a female director at $356m. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Andrew Tate fans believe population distribution is the issue

Alix Earle and her sister don outfits reminiscent of Serena Woodsen and Blair Waldorf's signature looks

On July 23, Tafari Campbell who went paddleboarding on Edgartown Great Pond was struggling to stay afloat before he disappeared, as per witnesses

'GMA3' star Jennifer Ashton is also an OB-GYN who spends her time supporting various causes and Non-Profit Organizations in the country

Worth left this world on top of the world - he had a passion for life and cared for those around him," read a statement by Taylor Ann Green's family

Ashton Kutcher has stepped away from his role at Thorn, an anti-sex abuse organization he co-founded, following backlash to a letter of support he wrote on behalf of convicted rapist Danny Masterson.

Michael Jai White said, 'He was using it, he wasn’t, well, he wasn’t calling someone that, you know it’s different'

Though hopefully you’ll never need it, the loop on your seatbelt is there to prevent injury or even death in a crash.

Warren Baker's latest endeavor involved styling Patrick Dempsey for People's Sexiest Man Alive cover story, which was shot in the picturesque setting of Malibu