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Matthew Fox is opening up about his break from acting after the success of Lost.

Key Points

• "It was the right moment for me to step back and take a moment and engage with the people that I love and care about the most in the world," he told Variety, referring to his family.

• His latest project is the Taylor Sheridan series The Madison.

Matthew Foxis reflecting on his break from acting.

Speaking withVarietyat the New York premiere ofThe Madison, Fox opened up about why he stepped away from the spotlight following the conclusion ofLost. "I felt like it was time to engage really intensely with my family," Fox admitted.

Speaking of his sons Kyle and Byron, Fox said, "I had missed some of their childhood because I was on set all the time withLostand doing films and promoting everything. It was the right moment for me to step back and take a moment and engage with the people that I love and care about the most in the world."

After reconnecting with his family, Fox said he "missed storytelling." Then the opportunity to join the latest Paramount+ series fromYellowstonecreator Taylor Sheridan came along.

"I was like, yeah, I'm in," he added, concluding that he "has a balance" in his life now.

Fox was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for his turn as Jack Shephard onLost. His other acting credits includeParty of Five,Speed Racer, We Are Marshall,Smokin' Aces,Emperor,Vantage Point, andWorld War Z.

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The actor also toldCBS Morningsabout his return to Hollywood, elaborating on what drew him toThe Marshall. The actor said it's "always about the material" when it comes to choosing projects these days.

"Getting that call from Taylor [Sheridan] and then reading the scripts, I felt compelled to do it," Fox said. "Sometimes you don't make a decision."

"That's my approach to the material is usually, I read a script and it's not a decision that gets made, but it just feels like, 'I should be the one to do this,' he continued. "I feel like it's inevitable, and it just goes from there."

The Madisontells the story of the Clyburns, who move from New York City to Montana following a family tragedy. Fox's castmates in the series includeMichelle Pfeiffer,Kurt Russell,Patrick J. Adams, Elle Chapman, Beau Garrett, Amiah Miller, and Will Arnett.

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with ourEW Dispatch newsletter.

The Madisonpremieres March 14 on Paramount+. For more on the series,readEntertainment Weekly's explainer onThe Madison.

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

More than 77 million people from the Midwest to the southern Plains were under some form of tornado warning on Wednesday after multiple apparent twisters caused extensive damage in Illinois and Indiana.

Northern Illinois remains the highest risk, with a "moderate" tornado warning for 2 million people in cities south and east of Chicago, including Joliet, Peoria and Bloomington. A marginal risk extends all the way down to Texas and Tennessee.

A tornado emergency was declared in Knox, Indiana, on Tuesday, with the National Weather Service telling residents, "This is a life-threatening situation. Seek shelter now!"

On Tuesday, the parent thunderstorm that produced tornadoes in northern Illinois and northern Indiana persisted for over 7 hours, along a 200-mile path. According to the National Weather Service, there were eight reports of tornadoes between the two states on Tuesday, and two in Texas.

An elderly couple from Lake Village, Indiana, was killed in one of the tornadoes on Tuesday night, officials said on Wednesday. Several others were hospitalized from the storms, officials added.

Many areas were also hit by strong storms and heavy rain, with strong winds and hail the size of golf balls in the Chicago region. Flood warnings are in place along rivers in Illinois and Indiana.

Much of Indiana, northern Kentucky and western Ohio — including in Indianapolis, Evansville, Louisville and Cincinnati — are under a tornado watch until 12 p.m. ET. Approximately 67 million people are under the threat of severe storms from northern Pennsylvania down to the Gulf Coast.

More than 12,000 energy customers were without power across the Midwest and 23,000 across the Great Lakes region on Wednesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

NBC Chicagoreported that there was significant but, so far unquantified, damage across northern Illinois and northwest Indiana, including to homes, other buildings and roads.

Kankakee County, south of Chicago, declared a state of emergency and said local officials and sheriff's deputies were carrying out search and rescue efforts, as well as damage assessments. There have been no confirmed reports of deaths so far.

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A house in the village of Aroma Park had its roof partially blown off and its walls collapsed, NBC Chicago reported. The local school district is shut Wednesday.

The resident, who gave his name as Bob,told NBC Chicagothat the storm "started getting louder and I started hearing stuff breaking and caving in and pretty soon my kitchen fell on top of me from upstairs."

"Everything caved in, the fridge and everything. Luckily, I was in, like, a hole, so I didn't get hurt at all — I was just trapped," he said. Neighbors came to rescue him.

Rob Churchill, the chief of the Lake Township Fire Department, said in a video posted to Facebook that multiple homes in Lake Village, Indiana, were destroyed when the town took a "direct hit" from a tornado. People forced from their homes were being sheltered in a local school. "It's going to be a long night," he added.

In the same video, while standing in front of what appeared to be a destroyed home, Newton County Sheriff Shannon Cothran said, "Please do not come here. Do not try to help right now."

Separately, Cothran told reporters that "injuries so far have been reported as being minor, but the home damage is pretty significant."

The midweek threat of storms and tornadoes makes this the most "widespread and impactful severe weather outbreak so far this year," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis.

"The overlap of strong winds aloft, abundant moisture from the Gulf and sharp temperature contrasts creates an environment supportive of tornadoes, damaging wind gusts and large hail," he said.

The weather service told peoplein the Chicago area to reduce their water usage ahead of the storm to prevent flooding and protect the limited local water supply.

Parts of the Northeast also experienced extreme weather this week. On Tuesday, New York City's Central Park broke its daily high temperature record, with the temperature soaring to 80 degrees, melting away remaining snow and ice from a recent blizzard.

DUBAI, March 11 (Reuters) - Three more vessels have been hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime security and risk firms said on Wednesday, bringing the number of ships struck in the region since the Iran conflict began ‌to at least 14.

The Thailand-flagged cargo ship Mayuree Naree engulfed in black smoke in the Strait of Hormuz

Shipping along the narrow strait has come to a near standstill since the United States and Israel began ‌strikes on Iran on February 28, preventing exports of around a fifth of the world's oil supply and sending global oil prices surging to highs not seen since 2022.

Iran's ​Revolutionary Guards have warned that any ship passing through the Strait will be targeted. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to ramp up U.S. attacks on Iran if it continues to obstruct the strait.

The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel was struck by "two projectiles of unknown origin" while sailing through the Strait on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship's Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping said in a statement.

"Three crew members are reported ‌missing and believed to be trapped in the ⁠engine room," Precious Shipping said.

"The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three missing crew members," it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.

Images provided ⁠by the Thai navy showed smoke pouring out of the back of the ship.

Iran's Guards said in a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency that the ship was "fired upon by Iranian fighters", suggesting the first direct engagement by the Guards who have previously fired missiles or drones.

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The U.S. Navy has refused ​near-daily ​requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since ​the start of the war on Iran, saying the ‌risk of attacks is too high for now, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Trump has said the U.S. is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed.

TWO OTHER SHIPS SUSTAIN MINOR DAMAGE

Earlier on Wednesday, the Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty sustained minor damage from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (46 km) northwest of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, two maritime security firms said.

Its Japanese owner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and a spokesperson for Ocean Network Express (ONE), its charterer, said that the vessel was struck while at anchor in the Gulf and an inspection of ‌the hull had revealed minor damage above the waterline.

All crew are safe, they ​said, adding that the vessel remains fully operational and seaworthy. The owner said the ​cause of the incident remained unclear and was under investigation.

A third ​vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 miles northwest of Dubai, maritime security ‌firms said.

The projectile had damaged the hull of the ​Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management ​company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel's crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area whilst anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.

The Guards' statement included a reference to another ship, which it ​said was hit by projectiles - usually a reference to ‌drones - on Wednesday morning. Reuters was not immediately able to confirm that report.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul in London, Yannis Souliotis ​and Renee Maltezou in Athens, Panarat Thepgumpanat in Bangkok and Kentaro Okasaka in Tokyo, Tala Ramadan, Nayera Abdallah in Dubai ​and Enes Tunagur in London; Editing by Louise Heavens and Philippa Fletcher)

A humanitarian crisis is looming inLebanonwhere more than 750,000 people have been displaced in the 12 days since the U.S. and Israel began their war with Iran and its proxies in the Middle East, figures released by the Lebanese government show.

The pace of displacement was "unprecedented," along with the "panic, also, that this has all created," Imran Riza, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, told Reuters on Tuesday. More than 100,000 people were registered as displaced between Monday and Tuesday alone, the data showed.

The majority come from Lebanon's south, where the Israeli military has enforcedsweeping evacuation orderswhile launching multiple strikes on the region, a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah. The U.S. military has not struck Lebanon.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that it was "operating with determination" against Hezbollah after the Tehran-backed group launched missiles at Israel in what it said was retaliation for the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

Since the start of the war Feb. 28, more than 570 people have been killed and around 1,400 injured as of Tuesday, according Lebanese government figures. Scores of children are among the dead, according to UNICEF.

Sleeping on streets

The numbers "are really shocking because they really jump so high," Dr. Tania Baban, the Lebanon country director for the Chicago-based nonprofit MedGlobal, told NBC News in a telephone interview Wednesday.

Baban said part of the rapid rise in the number of people identified as being internally displaced was likely due to the recent release of an online platform allowing people to formally register with the government as having been displaced.

The overall total was likely higher than 750,000, given that not everyone will have been able to access the platform, she added.

While the data showed just more than 120,000 people were listed as being housed in shelters set up across the country, Baban said many were sleeping in tents on the streets of Beirut or in parked cars.

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"People who have bigger cars are more fortunate," she said, adding that she had come across one father sleeping out "on a chair on the pavement" while his family, including four children, slept in their car.

Some were deciding not to move to shelters in northern Lebanon and opting to stay in Beirut so they could remain closer to their homes in the south, she said.

Riza, at the United Nations, told Reuters that the majority of the million or so people displaced in Lebanon during the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024 did not go to collective shelters. That would likely be the case during the current hostilities consuming the region, he added.

"There are about 100,000 people ​that are, as of this morning, in some 477 collective shelters. There are some 57 shelters that still have ‌some ⁠space, but basically the capacity is being reached very, very quickly," he said, with churches and Beirut's Sport's City Stadium converted into shelter sites.

Baban said humanitarian groups on the ground were also hearing of local municipalities seeking to discourage residents from renting homes to displaced people coming from the south over fears their areas could be targeted if suspected Hezbollah members were among them.

The sweeping displacement and growing death toll in Lebanon come as Human Rights Watchissued a report this weekaccusing the Israeli military of illegally using white phosphorous munitions over homes in the southern Lebanese town of Yohmor on March 3.

It said it had verified at least eight images appearing to show white phosphorus used over a residential area of the town and civil defense workers responding to fires.

"The incendiary effects of white phosphorus can cause death or cruel injuries that result in lifelong suffering," Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, warned in a statement Tuesday.

The Israeli military said in a statement Wednesday it was "currently unaware and cannot confirm use of shells that contain white phosphorous in Lebanon as claimed." While its primary smoke shells do not contain the substance, it said some of them did contain "a certain amount," which "are lawful under international law." These were used to create smoke screens and were not used for targeting or causing fire, it added.

Theformer Prince Andrewmay not be a working royal anymore, but theshadow of his controversieslooms large.

Several members of the British royal family —Prince William,Princess Kate,King Charles IIIandQueen Camilla— were spotted at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday, March 9, for the 2026 Commonwealth Day Service.

The annual celebration, which traces its roots back to the chiefly British Empire Day, observes the unity of the Commonwealth of Nations, an international association of 56 countries. It's often celebrated through a series of local events, which can include "faith and civic gatherings, debates, school assemblies, flag-raising ceremonies and cultural events," according to the Commonwealth'sofficial website.

The royals' appearance comes nearly a month after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor wasarrested by British policeon suspicion of misconduct in public life. He hassince been released from custody.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, decked out in matching navy-blue ensembles, partook in the festivities as they sat inside the royal church and watched the service, as seen in photos from the event.

In another photo, King Charles, wearing a pinstripe blue suit, and Queen Camilla, clad from head to toe in crimson, stood side by side with William and Kate.

But not everyone was in the mood to celebrate.

Several anti-royalist protesters gathered in London on Monday and Tuesday to voice opposition to both the royal family and the monarchy as a British institution. A group of demonstrators, holding signs that read "down with the crown" and "not my king," stood next to an enlarged dinosaur puppet, which was topped with a crown.

In a more pointed statement aimed at King Charles' brother, the former Prince Andrew, one protester held up a sign that featured aphoto of Andrew from the Epstein files. The image shows the disgraced royal kneeling on all fours over an unidentified woman on the ground. The sign read, "Charles, what did you know?"

The former prince has faced intense scrutiny over his friendship with the late convicted sex offender,Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor, who wasstripped of his royal titles in October, has denied any wrongdoing and said he regrets the friendship; he has not been charged.

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Andrew also has not responded to previous requests for comment following the release of the Epstein files, which were published by the U.S. Justice Department as part of its sweeping investigation of Epstein's past records and communications.

Commonwealth Day is not the first time the royal family has stepped out amid Mountbatten-Windsor's growing scandal.

King Charlesattended the opening of London Fashion Weekon Feb. 19, the same day that the former prince was apprehended by British authorities.

And last week, Princess Katevisited the U.K. city of Leicesterto mark the celebration of Holi alongside members of the British Indian community.

What has the royal family said about former Prince Andrew?

Following Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest in February, King Charles IIIreleased a statementshowing support for the police's investigation.

"I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office," the king said at the time.

"What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities," Charles continued. "In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course."

Prince William and Princess Kate, who havepreviously shown their support for victims of Epstein, supported King Charles' remarks, USA TODAY learned.

Contributing: Anna Kaufman, Kim Hjelmgaard, Taijuan Moorman, Laura Trujillo and Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Prince William, royal family attend Commonwealth Day amid protests