Confronted by an intransigent Iranian government that's refused to back down in the face of a massive military campaign, President Donald Trump appears to have settled on a dual-prong approach that combines economic pressure with the potential of a devastating escalation in force.

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday rejected the use of the word "war" to describe the U.S. fighting with Iran as he steered clear of predicting that the 6-month-old conflict would be over by November's midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress.

Here's the latest: Hiring perked up last month in the latest sign of a choppy job market U.S. companies and other employers added 162,000 jobs last month, an improvement from recent months of sluggish hiring, while the unemployment rate stayed a low 4. 1%.