Pope Leo XIV criticized the surge of nationalist political movements in the world as he prayed Sunday for reconciliation and dialogue — a message in line with his pledges to make the Catholic Church a symbol of peace.

The pope celebrated Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square in front of tens of thousands faithful, and asked the Holy Spirit to “break down barriers and tear down the walls of indifference and hatred.”

“Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for ‘security’ zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms,” the first American pontiff said.

He did not name any specific country or politician.

The pope also condemned wars, which “are plaguing our world,” and asked the Holy Spirit for “the gift of peace.”

“First of all, peace in our hearts, for only a peaceful heart can spread peace in the family, society and international relations,” Leo said, then prayed for reconciliation and dialogue wherever there is war in the world.

Soon after becoming pope, Leo pledged to work for unity and peace. His first message, “Peace be with you all,” set the importance of peace as a pillar of his papacy.

He has also appealed for a genuine and just peace in Ukraine and a ceasefire in Gaza.

Storms push through South; at least 2 killed

Two people were killed by falling trees and tens of thousands were left without power as severe storms rolled through the South over the weekend.

The storms downed trees and powerlines and brought heavy rainfall, hail and gusty winds as they pushed through the region. Nearly 150,000 people across states from Texas to South Carolina were without power Sunday morning, according to poweroutage.us.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said one person was killed in Lafayette County when a tree fell on a vehicle. Multiple tornado warnings were issued across northern Mississippi on Saturday.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said one person was killed in Georgia on Saturday. A spokesperson for the Georgia Emergency Management said the fatality occurred in Banks County when a tree fell on a vehicle.

The National Weather Service said a confirmed EF-1 tornado damaged multiple homes and injured one person Friday in the city of Van Buren in western Arkansas.

Another round of severe weather is expected to push through the southern Plains and the South on Monday. The highest risk for severe weather is in southwest Oklahoma and northern Texas.

The National Weather Service said destructive wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour, giant hail up to five inches in diameter and a few tornadoes are likely.

Iran claims it took Israeli nuclear files

Iran’s intelligence minister claimed without offering evidence Sunday that Tehran seized an “important treasury” of information regarding Israel’s nuclear program, ahead of a week in which the Islamic Republic likely will face new diplomatic pressure over its own program.

The remarks by Esmail Khatib follow Iranian state television claiming Saturday that Iranian intelligence officials seized documents, again without any evidence. Israel, whose undeclared atomic weapons program makes it the only country in the Mideast with nuclear bombs, has not acknowledged any such Iranian operation targeting it — though there have been arrests of Israelis allegedly spying for Tehran amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Iran, meanwhile, will likely face censure this week from the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency over longstanding questions about its program. Iran has also signaled it will reject a proposal from the United States after five rounds of negotiations over its nuclear program — setting the stage for that long-running crisis to potentially spike as well.

Soccer fans dies after fall at European final

A soccer fan died during the Nations League final between Spain and Portugal in Munich on Sunday after falling from an overhead level onto a media area below.

A UEFA official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give details, confirmed a person sustained fatal injuries from a fall.

The incident occurred during the first period of extra time at the Munich stadium, when tension was high between rival players, and fans were becoming more animated. Medical personnel, stewards and police cordoned off the area.

Portugal went on to win the game on penalties.

Salmonella sickens dozens in seven states

Dozens of people across seven states, most of them in the West, have become ill in a salmonella outbreak linked to a recall of 1.7 million eggs, federal safety regulators said.

The August Egg Co., of Hilmar, California, issued the recall of brown organic and brown cage-free eggs tied to multiple brands that were distributed to grocery stores from Feb. 3 to May 15 because of their potential to be contaminated with salmonella, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

At least 79 people have gotten ill from the outbreak linked to the eggs, with 21 people hospitalized, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a separate statement Friday.

Most of the those sickened (63) live in California, followed by Nevada and Washington state, with four illnesses each. Illnesses have also been reported in Arizona, Kentucky, Nebraska and New Jersey. No deaths have been reported.

The eggs, with sell-by dates between March 4 and June 4, were distributed at retail locations, including Save Mart, FoodMaxx, Raley’s, Ralphs and Safeway.

The eggs were also distributed from Feb. 3 to May 6, with sell-by dates from March 4 to June 19, to Walmart stores in Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Washington and Wyoming, the FDA said.

Four skydivers injured in Tenn. plane crash

Four people were injured after a skydiving plane carrying 20 people crashed in Coffee County, Tennessee, on Sunday, according to authorities.

Lyle Russell, a spokesperson for the city of Tullahoma, where the crash occurred and which is about 75 miles south of Nashville, said four people had serious injuries.

Danny Bonvissuto, a representative for Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, said three people were in stable condition and one was in critical condition. Others who had injuries were treated at the scene.

The plane was carrying skydivers at the time of the crash, Russell said. The name of the skydiving company was not immediately available.

The FAA said the plane was a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter. It crashed shortly after departing Tullahoma Regional Airport around 12:45 p.m.

Hundreds march in Fla. against antisemitism

American and Israeli colors lined the streets of Aventura, Fla., where a crowd of more than 500 people embarked Sunday on a three-mile march — escorted by police — to raise awareness for rising antisemitism at home and abroad.

The rally, co-organized by Run for Their Lives and the South Florida-based Loving Moms United movement, comes nearly two years after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. The trauma of that day continued to reverberate in Jewish communities across the globe, recently reignited by a violent terror attack at a sister rally in Boulder, Colorado.

The June 1 attack in Boulder — carried out on one of Run for Their Lives’ sister marches — left 16 injured, including an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor. The assailant, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, reportedly in the U.S. illegally, used homemade Molotov cocktails and a flamethrower-like device to target peaceful marchers.

Authorities say Soliman had plotted the assault for more than a year and told police he intended to “kill all Zionist people.” He now faces over 100 felony charges.

Runaway pet zebra recaptured in Tenn.

The search for a runaway pet zebra that had evaded capture for nearly a week in Rutherford County, Tennessee, came to an end.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, which had been searching for the animal that residents named Ed, said in a statement Sunday that the zebra had been recaptured and returned to its owner.

In a video the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook, the zebra’s head and legs can be seen dangling from inside a net as it spun in the sky while being airlifted by a yellow helicopter. Authorities said that the intrepid zebra was found in a pasture near Interstate 24.

The owner of the zebra — whose identity has not been released — got the animal May 30 before it escaped the next morning, the sheriff’s office said in an earlier statement.

How the zebra escaped was still not immediately clear, but dispatchers received a report May 31 that a zebra had been spotted in traffic on Interstate 24.

— From news services