NATIONAL BRIEFS

ILLINOIS: Emanuel takes the stand

On just his 10th day in office, Mayor Rahm Emanuel found himself on the witness stand in the federal corruption trial of a former governor. Emanuel's appearance Wednesday in the retrial of Rod Blagojevich on charges that he tried to leverage his office for personal gain was over in just five minutes. Blagojevich plans to take the stand himself, his spokesman said, perhaps Thursday, when the defense resumes its case. Emanuel testified that as chief of staff to President Barack Obama he knew of no deal in which Blagojevich had asked for a top job in exchange for appointing Obama's preferred candidate to the president-elect's vacant Senate seat in 2008.

More on Mumbai plot case

In another Chicago court, defense attorneys scrutinized the relationship between an admitted American terrorist and the Chicago businessman accused of helping him scout sites for the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks, working to persuade jurors their client was merely manipulated by a trusted friend. Coleman Headley, an admitted drug user and high school dropout, has pleaded guilty for his role in the three-day Mumbai siege by gunmen who killed more than 160 people. He agreed to testify against Tahawwur Rana, who is accused of providing cover as he conducted surveillance for the attacks. Headley, who is U.S.-born but spent much of his life in Pakistan, is the government's top witness in the trial. His testimony has so far detailed how Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani militant group blamed in the attacks, and Pakistani intelligence coordinated in plotting and funding the attacks.

NEW YORK: TV host suspended a week

MSNBC has suspended host Ed Schultz for one week without pay for calling conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham a "right-wing slut" on his syndicated radio program Tuesday. "Remarks of this nature are unacceptable and will not be tolerated," MSNBC said in a statement. It said Schultz would address his remarks on "The Ed Show.". -- Politico