Soaring egg prices have consumers boiling, and on Wednesday, the United States Department of Agriculture blamed rising costs on the bird flu epidemic and said it will take new steps to quell the outbreak.

Paying tribute: Hollywood stars have been honoring the two actors. The Conversation director Francis Ford Coppola called Hackman, the film’s star, “ magnificent .” Trachtenberg’s Gossip Girl co-star Chace Crawford called her “ one of a kind .” [Variety/Yahoo Entertainment]

The U.S. will invest up to $1 billion to combat the spread of bird flu, as well as increase imports of eggs in an effort to drive down high prices, agriculture secretary Brooke Rollins said on Wednesday.