WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner (photo: Lorie Shaull – CC License) Some news items you might have missed: • Reuters: Out WNBA star Brittney Griner is now in a penal colony in Russia’s Mordovia region. Inmates of Russian penal colonies are required to work long hours for meager pay. Former prisoners and human rights groups describe conditions there as harsh and unhygienic, with little access to medical care. • The Advocate: As one of the honorees on this year’s Out100 list, poet Aurielle Marie encountered a problem in advance of Out’s annual gala: they needed an outfit. Marie appealed to superstar Lizzo, asking the music maven to hook them up with a dress. And…Lizzo did just that. https://youtu.be/a19JKpPpFc4 • Asheville Citizen-Times: Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), who lost his bid for reelection, has apparently vacated his Washington and district offices two months before the end of his term. Since losing his May primary, Cawthorn has missed nearly one hundred House votes. p.s. still getting paid to be a congressman… • Queerty: Laverne Cox can’t believe “there are so many men, celebrity men, famous men, who are terrified of people finding out that they’re sleeping with trans women. I honestly can’t believe it.” https://youtu.be/uQjtVptkfAs • Xtra: An strong majority of Nevada voters (58%) have approved the most expansive Equal Rights Amendment of any state yet. The ERA is the first of its state-level counterparts to include sexual orientation and gender identity among these protections. #MyState • New York Times: Hours before a Thursday deadline that Elon Musk had given Twitter employees to decide whether to stay or leave their jobs, the social media company appeared to be in disarray. By the 5 p.m. deadline, hundreds of Twitter employees appeared to have decided to depart with three months of severance pay. https://twitter.com/oliverdarcy/status/1593377788052094978
