U.S. employers added 178,000 new jobs in March, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data released on April 3. Prior to the non-farm payrolls report, economists had forecast a more modest reading of 60,000. The unemployment rate also dipped to 4.3 percent last month, from the 4.4 percent registered in February. Markets had projected the jobless rate holding steady at 4.4 percent.

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday that the U.S. can open the Strait of Hormuz "with a little more time." Reopening the strait has become a priority for governments around the world as energy prices soar.

Oil prices climbed to around $110 a barrel on April 2 after President Donald Trump said the United States would continue attacks on Iran. And the United Kingdom is hosting a virtual meeting of around 40 countries to discuss options for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The United States is not due to attend.

An end to the longest Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown in history is on the horizon. Trump and congressional GOP leaders have rallied behind a two-pronged approach to bypass Senate Democrats on immigration funding. Lawmakers will fund the DHS through regular order, but remove funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Those will be handled in a second party-line bill using a budget process that will allow passage without support from Democrats.

U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on March 29, said talks with Iran are ongoing and making “very good” progress. He urged Tehran to take the deal or face destruction of its critical infrastructure. A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry denies negotiations are taking place.

Transportation Security Administration agents are expected to be paid again soon after Trump signed a presidential memorandum last week that would allow them to get paid despite the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, which is now officially the longest in history, with no end in sight.

The U.S. Senate voted on Friday (March) to end a partial government shutdown that has snarled airports across the country, though it did not resolve a dispute over immigration enforcement that prompted the six-week standoff in the first place. The House of Representatives must also pass the bill before Trump can sign it into law. A vote was expected later on Friday.

President Donald Trump announced actions to help U.S. farmers on Friday, as the White House host hundreds of farmers, ranchers and executives for an event highlighting the agricultural sector.

President ​Donald Trump on March 25 warned Iran to "get serious" about a deal to end nearly four weeks of fighting, after its foreign minister said Tehran was reviewing the U.S. proposal, but there were no direct talks on winding down the war.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Thursday that Iran had been "militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback", and was "begging" for a deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on March 25 that the Israeli military had killed an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy commander responsible for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Wednesday as prospects of a de-escalation in the Middle East conflict allayed some investor fears around prolonged energy supply disruptions.

A source at the Pentagon has told media that elements of the elite 82nd Airborne Division are being deployed to the region. A key element of the 82nd Airborne is the Immediate Response Force—highly-trained soldiers who can parachute into enemy territory. The deployment comes after U.S. airstrikes on Iran's Kharg Island, targeting military facilities but leaving oil infrastructure untouched. President Donald Trump also warning that the United States could target oil facilities if Iran interferes with the Strait of Hormuz.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) will be sworn in as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Oval Office of the White House on March 24. Mullin was confirmed by the Senate on March 23 and replaces fired DHS Secretary Kristi Noem

Iran and Israel have continued strikes in the Middle East after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed the bombing of the Iranian regime's ​power plants and other energy infrastructure because of what he described as productive talks with Iranian officials. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel on March 24, striking the coastal city of Tel Aviv.

Israel has confirmed that it killed the spokesman for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Ali Mohammad Naini. He's the fourth high-profile Iranian official killed this week.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said he held multiple roles in propaganda and media operations. The military says over the past two years, he served as the IRGC’s main propagandist and spread the regime’s messaging across the Middle East. His work targeted proxy groups to influence and advance terror attacks against Israel, according to the IDF.

An additional force of U.S. warships and an attached Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is set to deploy to the Middle East amid ongoing combat operations against Iran, The Epoch Times has learned.

The USS Boxer amphibious ready group and the 11th MEU, currently based out of San Diego, are set to sail across the Indo-Pacific region to reach the waters of the Middle East, according to a U.S. military source familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House for a bilateral meeting. It's the Japanese prime minister's first trip to the United States since taking office last October.

Takaichi told reporters that she hopes to discuss restoring peace in the Middle East, saying global peace and stability are under threat. Japanese officials say the two sides will work to deepen cooperation in regional security, critical minerals, energy, and China-related issues.

Top Trump administration intelligence officials, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and FBI Director Kash Patel, testify before the House Intelligence Committee at their annual hearing, focusing largely on the security implications of the Iran war.

Top Trump administration intelligence officials, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and FBI Director Kash Patel, testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee at their annual hearings. Hearings are expected to focus largely on the security implications of the Iran war.

The Israeli military said it killed Iran's minister of intelligence, Esmaeil Khatib, in an overnight strike. It's the third death of a top Iranian official in 24 hours. Israel says Khatib played a significant role during the recent protests throughout Iran, including arresting and killing protestors and leading terrorist activities against Israelis and Americans around the world.