Jamie Ross and Hannah Jewell">

By Jamie Ross and Hannah Jewell

Listen to this briefing

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, March 25, and some of these penny-pinching hacks from Post readers are genius, but we’ll never double-dip a teabag. Now let’s get to the news.

The Pentagon ordered a couple thousand paratroopers to the Middle East.

• Why? To give President Donald Trump options as he weighs a major escalation of the war in Iran. Despite the new orders, Trump yesterday declared the war has already been won.
• In Israel: Iranian missiles directly hit two civilian neighborhoods last week, shaking faith in Israel’s state-of-the-art air defenses. Its military has not explained what went wrong.
• Have you seen the White House’s war memes? They horrified many U.S. veterans.

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Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. (Octavio Jones/AFP/Getty Images)

• What happened? Emily Gregory won a special election for the Florida state House district that includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Records show Trump voted by mail.
• Why it matters: The victory is another sign of Democratic momentum ahead of this year’s midterms. Many Republicans are looking to Florida to help the party remain in power.

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Minnesota sued the Trump administration over shootings by federal agents.

• Why? State officials allege the federal government has withheld evidence related to three shootings, two of which were fatal, during Trump’s immigration crackdown this year.
• In the Senate: Republicans have a new plan to end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which has led to long lines at airport security. But Trump isn’t sold.
• ICE officers are at U.S. airports: If you’re traveling, here’s what you should know.

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U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro opened the inquiry after Fed Chair Jerome Powell testified about renovation costs. (Eric Lee and Valerie Plesch for The Washington Post)

• ​​In January: The Justice Department opened an investigation into the central bank over the cost of its building renovations. Trump has claimed “there is criminality” in the project.
• This month: A prosecutor said lawyers “do not know at this time” what evidence there is of fraud or criminal misconduct, arguing only that the project’s cost “doesn’t seem right.”

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A jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for endangering children online.

• In a landmark case: The state of New Mexico alleged that Facebook put young users at risk of harms including sexual abuse. Investigators ran a sting operation to gather evidence.
• More tech news: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) will today introduce legislation to block the construction of new data centers until lawmakers enact regulations on AI.

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The CDC is pushing to update its childhood immunization schedule to no longer universally recommend a vaccine against certain meningococcal diseases. (Toby Melville/Reuters)

• In Kent, England: Two young adults have died and 18 were hospitalized with the disease. The outbreak seems to be among people who attended a nightclub earlier this month.
• Should you be worried? Infections are rare in the U.S., but cases have been rising in recent years. Here are five things to know about the disease, including how to spot it.

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People over 65 can improve with age if they keep a positive attitude.

• How we know: Nearly half of participants in a new study improved physically, cognitively or both as they got older. Those with positive beliefs about aging fared better.
• If you’re a negative nelly: Try to follow this expert advice. You should consider spending more time in intergenerational settings and remember that aging is a privilege.

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Before you go … sorry, lettuce: Why parsley should be the star of a salad. Never have a cake fail again: