A transgender-identifying man commits one of the deadliest mass shootings in Canada’s history, Ohio Republicans move to protect parents who rebuff the concept of gender identity, and the Food and Drug Administration zeroes in on chemical preservatives in American foods.
It’s Thursday, February 12, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
Canada School Mass Shooting
At least nine people are dead and dozens more wounded after a mass shooting in British Columbia, Canada. The shooting is one of the deadliest in Canada’s history.
The shooter, whom police initially described as a “gunperson” in a “dress,” appears to have killed at least eight people across two locations and wounded dozens. That person has now been identified as an 18-year-old male named Jesse Van Rootselaar, who identified as a female and had a history of mental illness.
“I will say this, we identify the suspect as they chose to be identified in public and on social media,” said Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Dwayne McDonald. “I can say that Jesse was born as a biological male who approximately six years ago began to transition to female and identified as female, both socially and publicly.”
Two people were found dead inside a local home, who have since been identified as the shooter’s mother and 11-year-old brother. Most of the carnage took place at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, located in a remote area of northeastern British Columbia. There, at least six others were found dead, including the suspect. One more person died while they were being taken to a hospital. Students at the school said they were forced to barricade themselves in classrooms for roughly two-and-a-half hours before they were evacuated by police.
Ohio Lawmakers Take On Gender Ideology
In the red state of Ohio, parents can lose custody of their children for refusing to affirm their “gender identity.” But Republicans are looking to change that.
Ohio is one of many states where child welfare agencies have embraced radical gender ideology. Some parents of gender-confused kids who insist on referring to their child’s biological sex and given name could be labeled as “abusive” or “neglectful” by the state. This could mean being investigated and even losing custody of their children.
The Republican-backed bill is called “The Affirming Families First Act,” as in, affirming the child’s natural family rather than a gender-affirming family found by the state. The bill would ensure that parents could not be accused of abuse or acting “contrary to the best interest of the child” by any state agency simply for affirming the child’s actual sex.
FDA Reviews Food Preservatives Found In Rubber
The FDA is zeroing in on chemical food preservatives and making changes to food labels, aiming to bring American food more in line with European standards and make labels clearer. The agency announced on Tuesday that it plans to review a preservative called BHA, which is commonly used in many processed foods. FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary says that the preservative may contribute to cancer.
“About 4,600 different types of food that are common in the U.S. Food supply have BHA. It’s an ingredient that’s found in rubber, in plastic, in glue,” Makary told Morning Wire. “A National Toxicology Program assessment said that there’s a reasonable anticipation that it’s carcinogenic or cancer-causing.”
The FDA is also rolling out new rules regarding food labels, specifically regarding claims around artificial dyes.
“The FDA is making it very clear what these labels should mean, and what the criteria are. For example, the label, ‘no artificial dyes’ will now mean no artificial dyes. In the past, if you used a natural dye from natural ingredients, you could not use that label, and it created a lot of confusion among parents shopping for groceries for their kids,” said Makary.
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