CHICAGO – Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected to finally step into the witness box at his corruption trial on Tuesday, though exactly when will depend partly on how quickly prosecutors finish cross-examining his brother.

For most of the trial, co-defendant Robert Blagojevich faded into the background. But in a full day of testimony Monday, the sometimes emotional older brother told jurors he had no part in alleged plans to trade Barack Obama’s former Senate seat for campaign funds or a Cabinet post for his sibling, and that he never put illegal pressure on potential political donors.

The former Army officer turned businessman, now a real estate entrepreneur from Nashville, tried to convey an image as a decent and straight-laced gentleman — a contrast to the sometimes goofy image of his brother, long the butt of jokes on late-night TV.

“I was military and business, he was law and politics,” Robert told jurors in a clear, firm voice, sitting straight in the witness chair.

Prosecutors say they expect to question Robert Blagojevich for several hours Tuesday, after which his attorneys are expected to rest their case. Their only other witness was his wife, Julie, who testified briefly Monday morning.

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CAMP CASEY, South Korea (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the Korean peninsula on Wednesday, Gates said during a trip to South Korea.

The 4-km (2.4-mile) wide band straddles the truce line where guns fell silent in July 1953 after the three-year Korean War. Tensions between the Koreas have been high since the March sinking of a South Korean warship.

“Tomorrow Secretary Clinton and I along with our Korean counterparts will visit the DMZ, to highlight how important operations are there to the security of the peninsula as well as the region and demonstrate our steadfast commitment to the ROK,” Gates said during a visit with U.S. troops at this forward base nestled in the Soyo mountains north of Seoul and about 20 miles south of the DMZ.

The visit to the heavily armed border will be a highlight of a symbolic trip by U.S. President Barack Obama’s top national security aides to South Korea amid heightened security tensions following the sinking of the South Korean navy ship.

A team of investigators have blamed the North for firing a torpedo and sinking the corvette Cheonan, killing 46 men. North Korea denies it was involved in any way and has accused the South of conspiring with the United States to fabricate the claim.

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NEW ORLEANS – A federal judge who overturned the Obama administration’s initial six-month moratorium on deepwater oil drilling has refused to disqualify himself from the case.

Several environmental groups had asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman to withdraw from the case because of his investments in several oil and gas companies. Feldman refused in an order issued Friday and posted Monday.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court rejected the government’s bid to restore its temporary ban on issuing new permits for deepwater drilling and suspension of 33 existing drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Justice Department later issued a new moratorium that it hopes will pass muster with the courts.

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NEW ORLEANS – BP’s broken well was leaking oil and gas again Monday for the first time since the company capped it last week, but the Obama administration’s spill chief said it was no cause for alarm. The stopper was left in plac for now.

Ever since the cap was used to bottle up the oil last week, engineers have been watching underwater cameras and monitoring pressure and seismic readings to see whether the well would hold or spring a new leak, perhaps one that could rupture the seafloor and make the disaster even worse.

Small amounts of oil and gas started coming from the cap late Sunday, but “we do not believe it is consequential at this time,” retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said.

Also, seepage from the seafloor was detected over the weekend less than two miles away, but Allen said it probably has nothing to do with the well. Oil and gas are known to ooze naturally from fissures in the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

At an afternoon briefing in Washington, Allen said BP could keep the cap closed at least another 24 hours, as long as the company remained alert for leaks.

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