Kansas: Gov. Kelly vetoes bills on Trans athletes, censorship
NBC News reported on April 18 that Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed a proposed ban on Trans athletes in girls' and women's sports and another proposal meant to make it easier for parents to remove materials from public schools.

One bill would require local school boards to create procedures for parents to review classroom and library materials, and request certain materials be removed, in what Republican lawmakers call "transparency over secrecy." Critics say schools don't hide what they teach, and that lesson plans are regularly available to parents.

Neither measure cleared the largely Republican state legislature with the majority needed to override Kelly's decision, but NBC predicted that the subject of Trans athletes in sports would feature heavily in Kelly's race for re-election this year.

Kelly suggested to lawmakers in her veto message that the proposals were a "divisive" political move. "It's harmful to students and their families," she said, "and it's bad for business." Kelly vetoed a similar measure last year.

Florida: Roommate charged with activist's murder
NBC News reported on April 18 that Steven Yinger, the roommate of the late Gay rights activist Jorge Diaz-Johnston, has been charged with murder. A report from a circuit court in Leon County says that Yinger strangled Diaz-Johnston at his Tallahassee home and dumped his body, which was found at a landfill in Baker, Florida.

Yinger, who has an extensive criminal history according to public records, is being held at the Leon County jail without bail, and faces charges of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and grand theft (given that he used Diaz-Johnston's BMW, iPhone, and cash).

Diaz-Johnston's husband, Don Diaz-Johnston, commented after the indictment: "I still haven't come to terms with the fact that my life has been completely altered, and this turned everything upside down and ended all of our hopes and plans. To now be a part of this and have our marriage end this way is something I just never saw coming and still frankly can't accept."