US agriculture department says it accidentally fired bird flu officials

Agency works to rehire employees shortly after touting plan to ‘optimize workforce’ by cutting staff with help of MuskThe United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it accidentally fired several employees working on the H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu, outbreak and is now trying to rehire them.The about-face came after the USDA touted its plans to “optimize its workforce” by firing workers and terminating contracts, actions aided by billionaire Elon Musk’s unofficial agency, the “department of government efficiency” (Doge), NBC News reported on Tuesday. Continue reading...