From CNN, I'm a Falma DK, with the five things you need to know for Thursday, March 13th.

A federal judge has ordered half a dozen federal agencies to quote,

immediately reinstate probationary employees fired last month.

Those agencies include the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Treasury, among others.

The judge says he might extend the order to cover other federal agencies at a later time.

He says he believes the Office of Personal Management unlawfully directed agencies earlier this year

to lay off the probationary employees, who generally have been on the job for less than a year.

The judge's decision comes amid today's deadline for federal agencies to submit plans for conducting

reductions in force. As part of Trump's plan to downsize the federal government, the Department

of Government Efficiency proposes cutting nearly 20% of the IRS's workforce by May 15th.

Meanwhile, attorneys general in Democratic states and the District of Columbia

are suing Trump over major cuts to the Department of Education.

The states accused the Trump administration of, quote,

effectively nullifying mandates by Congress that require the department to carry out certain functions.

We agree with the proposal to cease hostilities, but we have to bear in mind that this ceasefire

must be aimed at a long-lasting peace and it must look at the root causes of the crisis.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he supports a 30-day ceasefire deal to end its war in Ukraine in theory,

but has, quote, reservations.

During a news conference today, Putin said it's not clear how the ceasefire would be developed in Kursk, where soldiers are fighting and elsewhere, but says he wants to talk it over.

As for the preparedness of Ukraine for a ceasefire, the meeting in Saudi Arabia of the U.S. and the Ukrainian side could look as a kind of decision-making

exercise under American pressure.

Ukraine accepted a U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire after lengthy talks with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

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