Trump signs order giving Musk’s DOGE more power over federal workforce

President Donald Trump gives Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency more power as the shrinking of the federal government continues. And Americans battle winter storms with severe weather expected to hit the Midwest, snow up the mid-Atlantic and heavy rain in fire-weary Southern California. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.

Trump signs order giving Musk’s DOGE more power over federal workforce

President Donald Trump gave Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) more power to reshape the federal government. With Musk in the Oval Office, the president signed an executive order Tuesday, Feb. 11, directing federal agencies to “coordinate and consult” with DOGE to cut jobs and limit hiring.

According to a summary released by the White House, each agency will be ordered to “undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force” and limit hiring to only “essential positions.” 

“What we’re talking about here, we’re really just talking about adding common sense controls that should be present, that haven’t been present,” Musk told reporters.

Good compilation of @DOGE discussion https://t.co/uPm9zlcIj4

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 12, 2025

Trump added, “We’re trying to do is reduce government. We have too many people. We have office space. It’s occupied by 4%. Nobody’s showing up to work because they were told not to. And then Biden gave him a five-year pass some of them, 48,000 of them gave him a five-year pass that for five years you don’t have to show up to work.” 

The move came as DOGE faces various lawsuits from labor unions and Democratic state attorneys over moves to slash the federal workforce, cut government spending and force employees working remotely back to the office.

Judge orders federal health websites be restored

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore U.S. health agencies’ websites after they were abruptly taken offline in response to an executive order telling them to scrub the websites of “gender ideology extremism.” 

The temporary restraining order is in response to a lawsuit by the medical advocacy group Doctors for America. The group said the CDC and FDA’s sudden removal of websites hampered doctors’ and researchers’ ability to fight disease. 

The pages that are now set to be revived include information for patients about HIV testing, HIV prevention medication, guidance on contraceptives, data that shows vulnerability to natural disasters and emergencies and an action plan for improving enrollment of underrepresented populations in clinical trials.

Netanyahu threatens to end ceasefire if hostages aren’t returned Saturday

Concerns over whether the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will hold are growing after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it will be “terminated” if Hamas does not return Israeli hostages by Saturday afternoon, Feb. 15. 

Hamas was set to release three Israeli hostages being held in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners this Saturday but announced this week the release would be delayed if Israel does not “fulfill its obligations.” Hamas accused Israel of violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement. 

Netanyahu has demanded all nine living Israeli hostages supposed to be released during phase one of the ceasefire deal be released in the next few days, or fighting will resume in the decimated Gaza Strip. The new demand comes after Trump warned Monday, Feb. 10, “all hell is going to break out” unless Hamas releases all remaining hostages from Gaza by Saturday. 

Netanyahu did not specify whether he was demanding the release of all 76 remaining hostages or just the three due to be freed on Saturday.

Jordan’s king agrees to take in 2,000 displaced Palestinians

Jordan’s King Abdullah II doubled down on his opposition to Trump’s plan to permanently displace and relocate Palestinians from Gaza during a meeting with the president at the White House on Tuesday. 

Last week, the president expressed interest in a U.S. takeover of the enclave, saying he would redevelop the area, which has been gutted and reduced to rubble by war, and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Part of that plan would include permanently relocating Palestinians, with Trump saying Egypt and Jordan should take in the roughly two million refugees. 

Before the meeting with Abdullah, Trump threatened to withhold U.S. aid to Jordan if the country did not accept them. Despite Abdullah’s immediate dismissal of the proposal last week, he did make some concessions during Tuesday’s meeting at the White House. 

“I think one of the things that we can do right away is take 2,000 children that are either cancer children or in very ill state to Jordan as quickly as possible and then wait for, I think, the Egyptians to present that plan on how we can work with the president to work on Gaza challenges,” Abdullah told Trump in front of a room full of reporters and Republican lawmakers. 

After the meeting, Abdullah posted on social media that the “unified Arab position” is that “rebuilding Gaza without displacing the Palestinians and addressing the dire humanitarian situation should be the priority for all.” He added that he believes Trump can bring stability, peace and prosperity to the region.  

Trump reiterated Tuesday he’s “99% sure” the U.S. will work out an agreement with Egypt to offer permanent refuge to displaced Palestinians.

Millions of Americans under winter storm advisories

Millions of Americans are under alert as two winter storms bring snow, freezing rain, and arctic cold across the country. 

More than 26 million people from Missouri to West Virginia face winter weather advisories, warnings of light snow, travel hazards and slick roadways. Alerts focused on the central plains, the Midwest, the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic include winter storm warnings, winter storm watches and extreme cold and freeze warnings. 

Chicago expects three to six inches of snow, and Omaha, Nebraska, will receive about five inches. St. Louis also expects one to four inches of snow, and it is bracing for a wintry mix with freezing rain. 

A third storm, a low-pressure system spinning in the Pacific, is forecast to drop precipitation from Hawaii into California. Flooding, mudslides and debris flow are possible in the fire-ravaged Los Angeles area, where too much rain too fast could lead to even more disasters. Forecasters expect nearly two inches between Wednesday and Friday, Feb. 14.

NASA moves up return date for Boeing Starliner astronauts stuck at ISS

NASA said two astronauts stuck in space for months longer than they were supposed to would hopefully return sooner than the agency expected. 

Tuesday, Feb. 11, NASA announced it adjusted its schedule to bring astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth as early as March 12. That’s a couple of weeks sooner than previously announced.

NASA and SpaceX are accelerating the target launch and return dates for the upcoming crew rotation missions to and from @Space_Station.#Crew10 launch now is targeted for March 12, pending mission readiness and completion of flight readiness: https://t.co/MhBNJCL80F pic.twitter.com/ZZs9NltVI5

— NASA Commercial Crew (@Commercial_Crew) February 11, 2025

Wilmore and Williams have been stranded on the International Space Station since June 2024. What was supposed to be a 10-day trip turned into an indefinite stay after the Boeing Starliner capsule was deemed too unsafe to bring them home. 

The empty capsule returned to Earth in September, and NASA announced that SpaceX would retrieve the astronauts on its next mission, which was initially scheduled for this month. However, that plan was pushed back after NASA said in December that mission teams needed more “time to complete processing” on the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule the astronauts will travel home in. 

Now, NASA said it is switching the capsule that will be used for the next set of astronauts to be flown to the space station. This ripple effect pushes up the date when Wilmore and Williams can make their return voyage.