5 LGBT things you need to know today, July 31

1. Kansa Gov. Sam Brownback was nominated as the ambassador at large for international religious freedom — and his constituents back home are happy to get him out of his current office. Speaking of religious freedom, the head of an anti-LGBT hate group hinted that the president may have more action on that front coming this week.

2. More than 40 men were arrested in Nigeria over the weekend in an anti-LGBT hotel raid. The men were charged with committing homosexual acts.

3. WNBA star Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury donated $5,000 to the city’s LGBT youth center that was damaged by an arsonist last week. Griner, who volunteered at the center, also launched a social media campaign to help the center raise money to replace some of the supplies it lost in the fire.

4. Is Donald Trump following the anti-LGBT footsteps of Russias’ Vladimir Putin? Tarah Demant of Amnesty International ponders that thought today in The Advocate.

5. VIDEO OF THE DAY: One year after the Democratic National Convention, six of its keynote speakers gather together to share a message of hope going forward, reminding us that we are all stronger together.