Six minutes of news from around the nation.

Police identify suspect in Canada mass shooting as investigation into motive continues; New England colleges support teachers with AI in the classroom; TX legislators urged to address children's mental health issues; More savings for Michigan seniors as drug price program expands.

TRANSCRIPT

The Public News Service Daily Newscast, February the 12th, 2026.

I'm Mike Clifford.

An 18-year-old female suspected to have shot and killed at least eight and wounded dozens today at a school and home in northeast British Columbia, Canada police say.

CNN reports the suspect who lived in the area was found dead at the scene with a self-inflicted injury.

Authorities are still investigating the motive.

Six of the victims, which included several students and a teacher, were found dead at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School.

The bodies of two people, the suspects' relatives, were found at a home in the town, which has just 2,400 people.

CNN adds this was Canada's deadliest shooting in decades.

And a growing number of New England colleges and universities are helping educators learn the ropes of artificial intelligence.

Surveys show up to 85 percent of K-12 teachers and students now use AI technology in the classroom, but experts say proper training is needed to ensure it's being used both effectively and ethically.

University of Maine professor of new media, John Apolito, says educators can help students better collaborate with AI rather than just rely on it for answers.

Instead of rejecting AI out of hand, I think we have to be AI realists.

It doesn't mean you have to adopt the technology in your classroom, but you have to be aware that students are swimming in it now and will be swimming in it in the future.

The University of Maine now offers a course on AI classroom integration.

Northeastern University is training STEM teachers and the University of Vermont offers a certificate in AI adoption.

Ippolito explains while studies show mixed results regarding the use of AI in schools, students say they feel more engaged when interacting with a chat bot compared to a standard textbook.

This story is based on original reporting by Drew Himmelstein with Midcoast Villager.

I'm Catherine Carley.

Next to Texas where child advocates say lawmakers there should do more to address mental health and substance abuse problems in kids.

A report by Texans Care for Children shows lawmakers implemented eight out of 31 mental health recommendations from a strategic plan drafted by the statewide behavioral health coordinating council.

Muna Javade with Texans Care for Children says the programs that were funded are important but kids with more complex challenges need more intensive support.

Too many parents are desperately looking for services to help their children get healthy, go to school, sleep in their own beds instead of entering psychiatric care.

And so the strategic plan is a wonderful roadmap for legislators.

Two programs that received additional funding include the Mobile Crisis outreach team which goes out into the community to de-escalate children and the multi systemic therapy program which works with children to keep them out of the juvenile justice system.

I'm Freda Ross reporting.

This is public news service.

The federal government has now expanded its drug price negotiation program for seniors in Michigan and beyond adding more than a dozen high-cost medicines.

For the first time the expansion includes drugs covered under Medicare Part B, typically prescribed in a doctor's office or clinic.

It builds on the first round of Medicare negotiated drug prices that took effect on January 1st.

Lee Purvis is the prescription drug principal for the AARP Public Policy Institute.

There are now some really significant price reductions for drugs.

People in the Medicare program tend to use a lot.

I'm talking reductions that could be 56 percent or close to 40 percent.

They're really big savings for people who are taking these drugs. in the program now include treatments for asthma, cancer, lung disease, and diabetes, as well as popular medications like Ozempic and Rubelsis.

Medicare spent more than $15 billion on those drugs in 2024.

Crystal Blair reporting.

And the Trump administration is moving to roll back the Environmental Protection Agency's 2009 endangerment finding, which lets the agency regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

The change could result in the elimination of federal rules surrounding pollution from cars and trucks, which Pennsylvania officials say would worsen air quality in the Lehigh Valley.

Mary Ellen O'Connell with the Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environment says asthma and lung disease are already harming people in the region.

She notes that in Northampton County, nearly 6,000 children and more than 26,000 adults have What we're worried about is that if this endangerment finding is removed, healthcare providers can no longer then rely on EPA safeguard standards over particulate matter.

So again, just increasing the rates of illness in our community.

Danielle Smith reporting.

Finally, some Illinois walking trails that are built on old railroad tracks are providing more than recreational outlets. sites are generating ideas for business development and growth.

Trails of the Grand Prairie is part of a coalition of non-profits and government agencies to create an expansive rail trail network across Illinois.

Board Chair Joe Yockey says the sites are great for watching nature, jogging or dog walking but the group has other goals in mind.

Developing recreational trails for a regional trail network in central and east central Illinois.

Taking old corridors and to enhance the natural resources along these trails.

We want to enhance the vegetation and restore Illinois prairie and oak savanna prairie ecosystem.

He says the trails also serve as community connectors for the surrounding neighborhoods where students at St. Joe Austin or Muhammad Seymour high schools to ride their bikes.

I'm Terry Dee reporting.

This is Mike Clifford for Public News Service, member and listener supported.

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