Hollywood actor Gene Hackman's wife, Betsy Arakawa’s recent death brought the rare respiratory disease, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, to the attention of the public.

The agency had previously drawn up plans to cut roughly 18% to 20% of the 100,000-person workforce by the middle of May.

The U.S. agency has not released information on what global programs were cut this week. NPR spoke to current employees who ...