“The Pitt” actor Patrick Ball broke down in tears while speaking to Cultured magazine and revealed how the Emmy-winning HBO Max medical series helped him get out $80,000 worth of student loan debt. Ball stars on the show as Dr. Frank Langdon. “The Pitt” is currently airing its second season on the streamer.

“I paid off my student loans like three months into ‘The Pitt,’ and that was a really profound moment because I thought I was gonna die with it,” Ball said through tears. “It’s a huge burden to carry, and a lot of people carry it. I was $80,000 in debt and I had been through a series of failed relationships where my financial insecurity was a real problem. I had just thought that was going to be my life forever, and that is a really heavy thing to live with.”

Ball added, “Paying off those student loans and getting back to zero, I remember being like, ‘Man, if this show works, great. If it doesn’t work, they can’t take that away from me. I am out of debt.’ No take-backsies on that.”

Ball earned a Critics’ Choice Television Award nomination for best supporting actor in a drama series thanks to his performance on “The Pitt.” He won a SAG Award as part of the show’s ensemble cast, which is headlined by Emmy winner Noah Wyle. Prior to being cast in “The Pitt,” Ball was leaning towards a life outside of Hollywood all together.

“The financial outlook can be bleak. I was looking for an off-ramp,” Ball told the publication, noting his then-girlfriend’s dad was trying to convince him to join the FBI. He was later working four jobs when he moved to New York City.

“I was working at a coffee shop, I was working at a restaurant, I was working as a wardrobe assistant for ‘And Just Like That,’ I was doing these corporate coaching seminars,” he continued. “I don’t think I’ve told anybody this story, but I was doing these seminars where they’d bring me into Blackrock and Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, and they would want to teach these young administrators how to have difficult conversations, à la how to fire somebody. They would bring me in as an actor so that these administrators could get practice firing someone. So I have been fired more than anyone you’ve ever met, I promise you. I’ve been fired thousands of times. And then the call for ‘The Pitt’ came in and everything was different.”

Head over to Cultured’s website to read Ball’s profile in its entirety.

The United Kingdom’s only warship deployed to the eastern Mediterranean during the Iran conflict has been forced into port over a “technical” issue, abruptly sidelining a key piece of Britain’s regional military presence as pressure mounts on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s handling of the crisis.

The docking of HMS Dragon — a Type 45 destroyer tasked with defending U.K. assets and projecting force near the conflict zone — weakens Britain’s visible military posture at a sensitive moment, as a fragile U.S.-brokered pause takes hold and criticism from Trump administration officials and conservative voices builds over delays and restrictions that they say damaged London’s credibility with allies.

HMS Dragon was facing issues with its “onboard water systems,” which impacted water provisions for sailors on board, The Daily Mail first reported.

MULTIPLE ALLIES DECLINE US CALLS FOR STRAIT OF HORMUZ SUPPORT AMID RISING MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS

“HMS Dragon is undertaking a routine logistics stop and a short maintenance period in the Eastern Mediterranean, allowing the ship to take onboard provisions, optimise systems and conduct maintenance,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement to the outlet.

The ministry said in a statement to the Daily Mail that if necessary the ship will be “able to sail at short notice.”

“The UK continues to maintain a robust and layered defensive presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, working in coordination with allies. This includes Typhoon and F-35 jets, Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, and advanced counter-drone and air defence systems.”

While the Iran war began on Feb. 28, the U.K. did not announce the deployment of HMS Dragon to protect its air bases in Cyprus until five days later. The announcement came a day after Iranian-backed militia group Hezbollah struck RAF Akrotiri, one of the United Kingdom’s air bases in Cyprus. HMS Dragon did not depart from Portsmouth, England, until March 10 — a week after Starmer’s announcement.

HEGSETH DECLARES ‘DECISIVE MILITARY VICTORY’ OVER IRAN

Trump and Starmer have been at odds since the conflict’s onset. While the United Kingdom has allowed the U.S. military to operate out of those bases, Starmer restricted the U.S. military from carrying out offensive missions from its bases. Trump compared Starmer’s approach to Iran to former United Kingdom Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who adopted an appeasement policy toward Nazi Germany during World War II.

During a press briefing, War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday called on “so-called allies,” referring to the United Kingdom, to “take notes” on what the U.S. and Israel accomplished.

Criticism of Starmer’s handling of Iran is also coming from United Kingdom Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly, a member of the Tory Party who is also a military reserve officer. Cleverly scrutinized Starmer’s decision to visit the Middle East after the ceasefire was brokered in an interview with GB News.

FARAGE SLAMS BRITISH PRIME MINISTER FOR ‘EXTRAORDINARY’ LACK OF SUPPORT FOR TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES

“He was opposing the United States using their own aircraft from British bases. Then he was in favor of it. He delayed the decision to deploy British naval assets,” Cleverly said.

“He left British military personnel and our allies in the region not properly defended, and now he’s finally engaging properly with this situation,” Cleverly continued.

He claimed that Starmer’s conduct had cost the country “credibility on the world stage.”

“I know a lot of our friends and allies in the region and beyond are very disappointed in Britain’s response. And that is entirely because of decisions that Keir Starmer failed to make,” Cleverly said.

British journalist Patrick Chrysty, host of GB News, also criticized the United Kingdom’s efforts in the Iran war. He called Secretary of Defense John Healey a “bumbling idiot.”

“It took us a month to get HMS Dragon to Cyprus after Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah attacked our military base there… And right as the world holds its breath, HMS Dragon has a fault with its fresh water supply. It’s gone to dock for repairs. It’s out of action. This is an abomination!”

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John Hemmings, director of the National Security Centre at the Henry Jackson Society, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Starmer’s visit to the Gulf is his way of showing the United Kingdom is in support of Western allies’ efforts in Iran.

“UK Prime Minister Starmer’s trip to the Persian Gulf shows the pressure he is under to ‘fly the flag’ and it’s clear that he’s trying to use Britain’s traditional networks and connections amongst the Gulf Arabs. In some ways, the Starmer team’s behind-the-scenes mediation strengths were proven in the Hamas-Israel peace deal with Jonathan Powell leading,

“This time, Yvette Cooper at the FCDO has been in the lead, running a virtual meeting of over 40 countries to coordinate a response to Iran’s blockade in early April.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense for comment.

Beirut, Lebanon – Em Walid was in the clothing shop she owns in central Beirut when the sound of explosions rang out.

“Even the street cats outside started running,” she said, after Israel carried out its heaviest and deadliest air attacks on Lebanon in years.

At least 254 people were killed and more than 1,160 were injured in dozens of attacks on Beirut, its suburbs, the south of the country and the eastern Bekaa Valley. There are fears the toll could rise as more victims are recovered from the rubble following the strikes – a sharp escalation since Israel ramped up its attacks on Lebanon early last month amid its joint war with the United States against Iran.

The strikes came hours after a Pakistani-negotiated ceasefire between the US and Iran took effect. There was initial confusion about Lebanon’s place in the two-week truce, with Pakistan and Iran insisting it was part of the agreement.

Israel and the US, however, argued otherwise. Speaking to US media, US President Donald Trump said Lebanon was a “separate skirmish”, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the ceasefire “does not include Lebanon”.

“Netanyahu wants to take advantage of the fluid situation to maximise operational achievements in Lebanon,” Dania Arayssi, a senior analyst at New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, told Al Jazeera.

“He must take into account that a US-Iran deal might include ceasing the war on Iranian proxies, which would greatly complicate the Israeli war effort against Hezbollah in Lebanon.”

Israel intensified its war on Lebanon for the second time in less than two years in early March following a salvo of rockets launched by the Lebanese group Hezbollah. A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah had ostensibly been in place since November 27, 2024, but Israel continued carrying out near-daily attacks that killed hundreds of Lebanese.

The Iran-backed group claimed its March 2 attack – its first response to more than a year of Israeli ceasefire violations – was retaliation for the US and Israeli assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei two days earlier, on the first day of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Since then, relentless Israeli bombardment and a ground invasion have killed some 1,700 people in Lebanon and forced more than 1.2 million from their homes.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it has a “right” to respond to the attacks, affirming “that the blood of the martyrs and the wounded will not be shed in vain, and that today’s massacres, like all acts of aggression and savage crimes, confirm our natural and legal right to resist the occupation and respond to its aggression”.

‘Just way too many of them’

The wave of attacks came as some of those displaced attempted to return to their homes in the south amid confusion over Lebanon’s inclusion in the ceasefire. Strikes happened across the country, including in parts of Beirut that had been spared over the past month and in 2024.

The first round included dozens of attacks in fewer than 10 minutes. The Israeli military claimed it attacked more than 100 Hezbollah headquarters and military targets, though many strikes were in densely populated residential areas.

No warnings were given.

Hospitals, frantically dealing with high casualty counts, started putting out calls for blood donations.

At the American University of Beirut Medical Center, in the Hamra neighbourhood, dozens heeded the call. Among those cramming the third-floor reception was a 20-year-old American University of Beirut student, majoring in philosophy. His family had fled Dahiyeh, in southern Beirut, when the attacks started in early March. They had taken refuge near the Basta neighbourhood, in the centre of the capital.

He was at the university, near the hospital, when the first rounds of attack happened.

“I heard several explosions,” the student, who did not give his name, said. “There were just way too many of them.”

The student recalled looking up and seeing smoke rising in the distance in multiple places around the city. Reports began coming in of attacks all over the nation. There was one near his aunt’s place in the Aley district, about a half-hour drive from Beirut, he said. She was fine – but a neighbour had been killed.

In the Manara neighbourhood, near Beirut’s seafront, Najib Merhe smoked a cigarette and chatted with neighbours. An Israeli attack had destroyed an apartment a few floors above his restaurant, Hani’s, a long-standing, popular burger joint.

He was not on site when the attack happened, but his son was. Luckily, he was unharmed.

“People are afraid,” Merhe said. “This kind of situation no one can afford nor endure.”

Across the street, the glass facade of his restaurant had been destroyed. Light fixtures hung from the ceilings. People swept glass on the street, and old men walking along the seafront gathered to look at the hole in the wall where the apartment had been just a couple of hours earlier.

Security forces had cordoned off the area and directed passersby to beware of falling glass from the adjacent building.

This was one of the smaller strikes. It was targeting a specific apartment. In other parts of town, Israel took down entire buildings.

Further down the street in Manara, a sweat-drenched member of Beirut’s civil defence forces sat in the back of his emergency response vehicle. “I heard ‘woooooo’ and then strikes all over the place,” he said, adding that he’d never seen anything like this before.

As the day continued, people feared Israel was not finished. In televised remarks, Netanyahu said that his military’s operations against Hezbollah, and thus Lebanon, would continue.