Chief United Nations weapons inspector Hans Blix is reporting to the United Nations Security Council today. The foreign ministers of all five permanent council members and many of the 10 other members will attend, including Secretary of State General Colin Powell. Both the domestic and international media are reporting the meeting is unlikely to resolve the deepening split over the issue of a U.S. first-strike attack on Iraq. France, Russia, China and Germany are opposing the U.S. and Britain. The Christian Science Monitor reports some nations see the meeting as a pivotal moment in the battle to curb American power.

The New York Times reports the Bush and Blair administrations are already drafting a Security Council resolution declaring the Iraqi government has failed to disarm and must now face unspecified “consequences.” They plan to present the resolution next week. It’s designed to counter French and German proposals to strengthen the weapons inspections and allow more time.

But the majority of the American people are in the French and German camp. According to a new New York Times/CBS poll, nearly 60% of Americans believe Bush should give the inspectors more time. Nearly 30% disapprove of toppling the Iraqi government, and that number rises to nearly half if a U.S. invasion would result in a U.S. occupation or substantial Iraqi civilian casualties. The poll also found that over half of Americans disapprove of the way Bush is handling the economy.

Meanwhile, South African President Thabo Mbeki today said an offer to help Iraq disarm its weapons of mass destruction has been accepted by both Baghdad and U.N. weapons inspectors.

Meanwhile, the London Independent is reporting senior Democrats say the CIA is sabotaging the inspections by refusing to cooperate fully with the U.N. and withholding crucial information about Iraq’s arsenal. Led by Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, they’re accusing the CIA of making an assessment that the inspections are unlikely to be a success, and then ensuring they would not be. The Democrats are accusing the CIA director of lying about what information on the suspected location of weapons of mass destruction has been passed on to inspectors.

War Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday refused to rule out using nuclear weapons against Iraq. He was speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee in response to questioning by Senator Edward Kennedy, who expressed alarm that the Bush administration may be considering lowering the threshold for use of nuclear weapons.

A coalition of six House Democrats and several U.S. soldiers and parents of military personnel are suing to try to prevent the Bush administration from going to war without congressional approval. The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Boston, argues that under the Constitution, only Congress has the power to declare war. The representatives joining the suit are John Conyers of Michigan, Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, James McDermott of Washington, José Serrano of New York, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois. The plaintiffs are asking for a preliminary injunction against the president and for a hearing on the issue.

Meanwhile, over two dozen local officials elected from cities, towns and counties that have passed antiwar resolutions descended on the capital yesterday. They attempted to deliver copies of their resolutions to George Bush, but they were turned away at the White House gates. According to CitiesForPeace.org, there are over 90 resolutions opposing war, passed by cities, counties and state legislatures.

In Baghdad, the first group of Western human shields are preparing to deploy at vital installations in Baghdad in an attempt to stop war. An Italian pediatrician told UPI they want to make the cost of war in Iraq higher for the United States. He said, “If they kill one European, the cost is higher. If they kill an Arab, the cost is very low.”

War Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday accused the neutral country Austria of blocking the movement of U.S. troops. Troops are attempting to move via train from Germany through Austria to Italy in preparation for war against Iraq. ABC News reports a spokesperson at the Austrian Embassy in Washington confirmed the blockade. Austria is a neutral state and restricts the movement of foreign military equipment across its territory. Rumsfeld was speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee and arguing it’s an example of problems in stationing more than 70,000 troops in Germany.

Japan warned North Korea yesterday it will launch a preemptive attack on North Korea if it finds evidence that North Korea is about to attack with a ballistic missile. The Japanese defense minister said he will seek parliamentary approval for legislation that will broaden Tokyo’s ability to attack. He also suggested that Japan would be interested in collaborating with the U.S. on a missile defense system.

Meanwhile, a U.S. military court sentenced Sergeant Leng Sok to 30 years in jail for sexually assaulting a South Korean soldier in March.

On the home front, ABC News is reporting a key piece of the information leading to the recent terror alert was fabricated. Two senior law enforcement officials in Washington and New York said that a claim made by a captured al-Qaeda member that Washington, New York or Florida would be hit by a dirty bomb sometime this week was false. But it was only after the threat level was elevated to orange that the informant was subjected to a polygraph test by the FBI.

Swiss researchers say it’s impossible to verify that the latest tape recording attributed to Osama bin Laden is actually bin Laden. The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation website, SwissInfo.org, reports researchers at the Dalle Molle Institute for Perceptual Artificial Intelligence analyzed an earlier recording the Bush administration attributed to bin Laden, and concluded it was almost certainly faked. The Swiss analysts say the poor quality of the most recent recording, coupled with the limited number of voice samples, mean it is unlikely the recording can ever be authenticated.

Three hundred law school students from across California took out a full-page ad in The New York Times charging the Bush administration has undermined constitutional civil rights law with its “war on terror.”

The House and Senate yesterday hastily approved a spending package worth nearly $400 billion. It’s the largest appropriation bill ever and is loaded with money for special interest projects.

And this news from Bolivia: The violent military attack on civilians and police protesting proposals to raise taxes on the poor is worsening. Soldiers are shooting directly at the civilians. The death toll has risen to 23.

And on that House and Senate hastily approved spending package, worth over $400 billion, a spokesperson for Citizens Against Government Waste said, “This is more pork with one vote than they have ever passed in their lives.” The bill was passed the same day the House adopted a Republican bill to impose stricter work requirements for poor people on welfare. It also gives states money to promote marriage and sexual abstinence and continues a ban on cash assistance for many legal immigrants. And buried within the nearly $400 billion spending bill is a provision that would permit livestock producers to label meat as organic even if the animals have been fed entirely on conventional rather than organic grain.