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Ash and lava spew from the volcano, as seen from Pucon, Chile. Reuters /Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Reuters /Landov

Ash and lava spew from the volcano, as seen from Pucon, Chile.

Reuters /Landov

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A general view of the volcano, which is Villarrica erupting near Villarrica, some 466 miles south of Santiago de Chile. Ariel Marinkovic/EPA /Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Ariel Marinkovic/EPA /Landov

A general view of the volcano, which is Villarrica erupting near Villarrica, some 466 miles south of Santiago de Chile.

Ariel Marinkovic/EPA /Landov

A view of the eruption. Ariel Marinkovic/EPA /Landov hide caption

itoggle caption Ariel Marinkovic/EPA /Landov

Chile

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — a day after saying the U.S. and Israel agree that Iran should not have nuclear weapons but "disagree on the best way" to prevent that from happening — will outline to Congress what he sees as the threats posed by the Islamic republic.

His comments today come after President Obama told Reuters that a long-term deal with Iran is the best way to ensure the Islamic republic doesn't obtain a nuclear weapon, and that Netanyahu's speech to Congress — which came about without White House input — "isn't permanently destructive" to the U.S-Israeli relationship. Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, said last night that the Israeli leader's planned remarks had "injected a degree of partisanship" that is "destructive to the fabric of the relationship."

Netanyahu's speech has been controversial from the moment it was announced last month by House Speaker John Boehner. The White House called the invitation to Netanyahu a departure from protocol. Obama, citing the proximity of Israel's March 17 election, said he won't meet with the Israeli premier; neither will Secretary of State John Kerry or Vice President Joe Biden, both of whom are traveling. Many Democrats say they will boycott the speech. (NPR's Scott Horsley, reporting on Morning Edition, details the history of Obama's often-frosty relationship with Netanyahu.)

Netanyahu says he wants to use the speech to highlight the threat posed by Iran — a position for which he has support in Congress where many lawmakers want to impose more sanctions on the Islamic republic. Netanyahu has criticized the talks with Iran, but Obama told Reuters the talks are the best way forward.

Obama added that when the U.S. and its allies signed an interim deal with Iran that would freeze its nuclear program, "Prime Minister Netanyahu made all sorts of claims: This as going to be a terrible deal. This was going to result in Iran getting $50 billion worth of relief. Iran would not abide by the agreement. None of that has come true." (You can see his full comments here.)

Rice and Samantha Power, the U.S. envoy to the U.N., were conciliatory in remarks Monday at the 2015 American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference in Washington, where the Israeli leader also spoke. Both reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Israel and its security.

"There will never be a sunset on America's commitment to Israel's security," Power said. "Never."

Speaking later, Rice said: "We have Israel's back, come hell or high water."

But she also said talks with Iran is the best way from keeping it from obtaining nuclear weapons, and she said Congress "shouldn't play the spoiler" on the issue.

We will update this blog post with Netanyahu's comments to Congress.

U.S.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu

Congress

Israel

Inayat Omarji vividly remembers the worried reaction when he first looked into renovating the abandoned church in his neighborhood: "There's a bearded young Muslim chap involved in a church! Whoops! He's gonna turn it into a mosque!"

Inayat Omarji led the efforts to turn All Souls Church into a community center a decade ago, when he led the Bolton Council of Mosques. Ari Shapiro/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Ari Shapiro/NPR

At the time, Omarji was head of the local council of mosques, but there already were three or four in his neighborhood in Bolton, England.

"What it needed is a place where people could meet, people can come to, people can socialize," he says.

Omarji and other local Muslims decided to turn the church into a community center for everyone. That was ten years ago. Now, amid stories about religious friction and ethnic tensions, the transformation of All Souls Church provides a story of harmony and integration in one culturally diverse community.

A decade ago, All Souls was covered in graffiti. Thieves had stolen lead pipes and broken some windows. But even as a boarded-up shell, the church was the geographic center of this community, its bell tower looming above the surrounding streets.

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Beyond the entrance to All Souls Church in Bolton, England, are a small cafe, the original altar and pipe organ, gathering spaces for the community, and a touch-screen terminal that plays recorded recollections of the church's history. Ari Shaprio/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Ari Shaprio/NPR

Beyond the entrance to All Souls Church in Bolton, England, are a small cafe, the original altar and pipe organ, gathering spaces for the community, and a touch-screen terminal that plays recorded recollections of the church's history.

Ari Shaprio/NPR

Omarji says one of the first decisions his group had to make was what to name this new community center.

"A no-brainer, actually, because the name just said it all: All Souls," says Omarji. "If somebody says 'oh, is this, is it just for the Muslim community?' ... No, just think about the name: All Souls. For everybody."

The renovation cost 5 million pounds, or around $8 million. Some of the money came from national lottery funds, with matching donations from individuals and charitable foundations.

Now the interior has elements of an ornate 18th-century church, while it holds elegant floating pods with meeting spaces, activity rooms, and a cafe. Every piece of the new interior had to be brought in through the church's original small doorway. Today there are after-school activities for students, knitting and gardening groups, and a Lego club that constructed a scale model of the church using the plastic bricks.

The building's new management shows a clear respect for history. Touch-screens along one wall play videos where former church congregants tell their stories.

"My happiest childhood memory was being picked for Rose Queen, and what an excitement that was," a senior citizen named Jean recalls in one of the short films.

The Rev. Gerald Higham was vicar of All Souls in the 1970s. At that time the local cotton mills were closing, white Christian families were leaving, and Muslim families with South Asian roots were moving in.

Higham recently returned to the church for his first close look at what it has become.

"I think it's been brilliantly done," he said, as he and his wife sipped cappuccinos on one of the new couches. "It could so easily have just been gutted."

Higham peered around the hall at details that he recognized from almost 40 years ago — a memorial to war dead on the wall, the central altar that has been kept intact, and the pipe organ that may yet be restored to working order.

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This is still a consecrated church, and a local group will hold Christian services here once a month. In the context of ethnic tensions around the UK and Europe, this space feels like an anomaly — it appears to be a completely frictionless blending of cultures. But that's a bit of an illusion.

"Nothing is completely frictionless — people are human beings," says Mark Head, vice-chairman of the trust that oversees the building.

Head says the integration at All Souls is the result of difficult conversations. For example, the cuisine of Lancashire, England, includes a lot of pork, but the cafe is halal. That has not stopped people of all backgrounds from filling the restaurant nightly for the gourmet burger menu.

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The cafe added to All Souls Church in its transition to an interfaith community center serves only halal food, but its gourmet burger menu has been a big draw. Ari Shapiro/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Ari Shapiro/NPR

The cafe added to All Souls Church in its transition to an interfaith community center serves only halal food, but its gourmet burger menu has been a big draw.

Ari Shapiro/NPR

"We had to turn people away," says Asif Timol, owner of the caf, called Room Four Dessert. "The whole issue of cohesion and integration is very close to home — being British-Asian, I've got young children who I'm raising in this country, so it's very important to me."

The All Souls team struggled with how to handle guide dogs — they are allowed in the building, despite being considered unclean in Islam. Alcohol was another issue; observant Muslims do not drink.

"When people want alcohol for a particular event or a conference, that will be organized by a separate entity altogether," says Head.

There is a method of bell ringing called Grandsire Triples that only has been played at key moments in the history of All Soul's. It was played at the end of World War II, and at the building's centenary celebration. Plaques in the church mark each occasion the piece has been played.

When All Souls reopened Dec. 6, the bells rang for the first time in 25 years, playing Grandsire Triples. Another plaque will be installed, marking that moment, next to the other key occasions in the life of this historic building.

United Kingdom

Islam

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Updated at 12:15 p.m. ET.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who has served in the Senate and in Congress longer than any other woman, says she will not seek a sixth term in 2016.

Mikulski, 78, announced her decision Monday in Baltimore.

" 'Do I spend my time raising money, or do I spend my time raising hell?' " she said she asked herself, according to The Associated Press.

Mikulski was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1976 and has served in the Senate since 1987. She was the first woman to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee. Known as the "Dean" of women in the Senate, Mikulski had a reputation for taking female senators under her wing.

The Baltimore native was a social worker before she was a politician.

The Washington Post, which broke the news of Mikulski's retirement, notes that she is "a forceful presence on many pieces of legislation, passionately liberal on certain issues but also committed to working closely with Republicans."

She's considered to be one of the more liberal members of Congress. She has been a fierce champion of environmental issues and equal pay for women.

In 2012, when NASA discovered an exploding star, they named it "Supernova Mikulski" in her honor.

Her retirement will spark a heated Democratic primary. Potential candidates to replace her include U.S. Reps. Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards, and former Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is said to be considering a White House bid in 2016.

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