listening? >> reporter: the 19-year-old admitted she lied about her age. claiming to be 16 at the time of the shooting because she didn't want to be questioned. she said she didn't call police to tell her account because she expected police to contact her like they do on the tv shows. then, there is the issue of the audio recording the witness made with attorney ben crump. he played pub lackly to draw attention to the case. >> you didn't take it seriously? >> nope. >> back here in sanford, we want to dip into video there in the courtroom. you can see george zimmerman there and at the stand, rachel jeantel is back in the courtroom. just yesterday when she was told

she would have to return by donny donwest. she did seem like a bit annoyed. don west said it could take a couple more hours for this testimony to continue. >> george howell, thanks so much. as you can see, as george said, the trial is now under way. rachel jeantel now sitting on the stand and george zimmerman is sitting. they're waiting for the jury to enter the courtroom. once the jury is seated, the proceedings will begin. we'll wait for the jury to come into the courtroom. we'll look at what rachel jeantel's testimony means for this. sunny hostin in atlanta and with me here is page pate. good morning. >> good morning. >> sunny, if the twitterverse is any indication, two tweets point othat. one says breaking rachel jeantel guilty of murdering the leengli

language. what is your take on her testimony, sunny? >> you know, i think that's an unfair characterization of what's happening in the courtroom. yes, perhaps she is the most elegant witness that we've seen. but i think you understand that she is not a professional witness and not a detective and someone that has not testified before. she appears to be reluctant on the witness stand and that gives her more credible. i put a lot of people on the witness stand and oftentimes you see this. you see people being their authentic severals. people that can't be coached and people that are perhaps not the best type witnesses, but i tell you juries react to that. react to the altogethuthenty. she is being herself and she said some things that are not flattering to trayvon martin.

he used despairing language when she spoke of george zimmerman. i think when you take all the testimony into context, that just helps the prosecution because if this jury, carol, believes what she is saying. they will believe that george zimmerman was the initial aggressor. under the law, that means self-defense isn't really a available to him. i think that's why this witness is so very crucial to the prosecution. >> page, as a defense attorney, we've seen that rachel is bei combative. as a defense attorney, what special challenges does that present? >> it does present challenges. you don't want to beat up a witness who is essentially a 19-year-old girl. i expect the jury will come in there already bias towards trayvon. she's a friend towards vavon. what you do as a defense lawyer, don't keep her up there for another two or three hours. hit the key points and show that she's bias and show she has been

consistent in her earlier testimony and evidence. >> there are inconsistencies in her story, though, paige. number one, she lied about her age to trayvon martin's parents. she told them she was 16. the reason she didn't attend trayvon's martin funeral. she said she was at the hospital and she wasn't. in testimony she said she didn't want to see the body. the testimony has begun. you two stand by, thank you. >> gave to mr. crump over the telephone? >> yes. >> were you telling mr. crump trayvon martin said, as you heard, are you following me? is what you said he said, correct? >> yes. >> and that the first thing that you told mr. crump mr.

zimmerman, what are you talking about? do you remember saying that yesterday? >> yes. then that changed to what are you doing around here? >> i am going to object. >> rephrase your question. >> the first time you answered the question, what did you hear? you said that the the other man, mr. zimmerman said, what are you talking about? do you remember that being your answer? >> i remember that, yes. i don't remember, but yes. >> you saw that on the deposition and you agreed that's what you said. >> yes. >> and then when asked again or whether you were talking bout that same thing, again. instead of saying what are you talking about? it became what are you doing

around here? correct? >> yes. >> then at your deposition, when i took your deposition, you said, in the letter that you wrote -- >> object, again, restating what occurred yesterday as opposed to asking a question. >> it's a preliminary question, i'll allow it. just assess where we are. >> in your -- in your deposition, you said, in fact, that in the letter that you wrote to sabrina foelten, you said, what are you doing around here is what you attributed to mr. zimmerman? >> yes. >> at your deposition when we learned for the first time that you had written -- >> yes. >> you never said that in any of your other statements. >> no. >> the letter was the one that

you and your friend put together, the one that you gave to ms. foelten on march 19th? >> yes. >> you had never mentioned that to anyone prior to you mentioning it to us in miami in march of this year? >> a letter to her. >> you did. tell the prosecutor about it? >> no. >> you met with the prosecutor, though, in jacksonville in early august, correct? >> yes. >> that's when you told him, oh, i didn't go to the hospital. i lied about that. >> yes. >> but you didn't tell him that you'd written the letter? >> no. may i have the letter, please.

marked as defendant cc for identification. let me approach you for a moment and show you this letter. copy, of course. will you take a look at it? >> i have no objection for it being introduce under to evidence. >> you seek to have it introdu e introduc introduced? >> yes. >> exhibit 17, thank you. >> would you mark it, now.

>> ms. jeantel let me show you the letter that is now marked as exhibit 17. let me ask you a few questions about that. >> and i don't want to speak an objection. >> okay, please approach. >> all right. the lawyers are approaching the bench to have a private conversation with the judge. testimony has been paused. let's get back to paige. so, the defense is beginning its cross-examination of this very difficult witness. and you say they can't be too combative, but it sounds like they're going to do just that. >> i think he's doing a good job at this point. he's going to make sure the jury understands what her prior statements have been and what she's saying now and how those two are different.

but you do run the risk of getting the jury to side with this witness if you come on too strong. start hammering her with prior inconsistent statements. lay them out and see the jury she is inconsistent and she is bias and has chosen sides here and then back off. >> the thing that really stands out about this witness, sunny, she clearly does not want to be there. she does not want to be sitting in that seat. sunny hostin, can you hear me? >> i can hear you now. >> okay. well, i was just saying that it's clear that rachel jeantel does not want to be sitting where she is today. >> yeah, you know, that is clear. and, again, i know that she has taken quite a lit on the twitterverse and on the internet and even i think jay leno was making some jokes about her. the fact that she appears to be a reluctant witness lends to her credibili credibility.

the contents of the letters are yours. >> yes. >> are you able to read that copy well enough that you can tell us if it's, in fact, the same letter? >> no. >> are you unable to read that at all? can you read any of the words? >> i don't understand cursive.

>> did you sign it at the bottom? >> yes. >> what name did you use? >> diamond eugene. >> diamond eugene. >> are you saying that -- >> i have no objection. this thing keeps flashing right here on the computer. >> putting the screen up. can we take the flashlight off. >> all right. we're going to let them sort this out and we'll take a break and be back with more. every day we're working to be an even better company -

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okay. we're going to take you back live inside the sanford, florida, courthouse. rachel jeantel talking to

trayvon martin on the phone moments before he died. she is testifying about the letter that she had written. it appears that she did not write the letter, but maybe dictated it. she can't read it back and your heart kind of goes out to her. let's listen to see what else she says about this letter. >> does not contain any response that the person gave to trayvon martin when you said, why are you following me. >> yes. >> further, you say that you thought this was just a fight. >> yes. >> this was the letter that you gave to ms. folten on the same day that you talked to her and told her basically what happened. >> yes. >> you told her then, i take it, that the same thing that you said there or did you tell her more? >> tell her more. >> did you tell her that the man that trayvon said, why are you

falling me responded in some way? >> yes. >> and what did you tell her that he said? >> repeat your question, again. >> did you ms. fulton what the man said when trayvon martin said, why you following me? did you say to mrs. fulton what the man said in response? >> yes. >> what did you tell her? >> what are you doing around here? >> so that's what you told ms. fulton? >> yes. >> you are sure you actually had a conversation with ms. fulton? >> not for that long. >> agreed. i'm not challenging that. but you're saying that you had a conversation about the facts of the case, if you will. >> yes. >> and the facts including, included you saying that mr.

zimmerman said what you doing around here? >> yes. >> you do acknowledge, though, the first time that you were asked that question in your interview with mr. crump later that day, your response was that mr. zimmerman said, what are you talking about? >> yes. >> are you sure those are the words that trayvon martin said or could you have been sort of trying to figure out what was said and that's what you came up with? >> i'm sure. >> which are you sure about? that he said what are you talking about or why are you following me? >> why are you following me. what trayvon said. what are you following me for? >> you first said in response to

that question, what are you talking about was the answer. >> i cannot hear you, sir. >> your testimony today is what you heard on the phone the man say that george zimmerman was, what are you doing around here? >> yes. >> then the first statement you made to mr. crump in his interview of you, you said what mr. zimmerman's response was, what are you talking about? >> yes. >> it was in the interview with mr. crump that you said you thought this was a racial thing. >> he asked if it was a racial thing. >> what did he say? >> do you think the situation was a racial thing?

>> mr. crump asked you that on the recording? >> yes. >> have you had a chance to look at the transcript or listen to the recording? did you ever hear him say that on the recording? >> compound questions. >> you need to break your question up. >> sure. >> do you remember him saying that specifically to you during that phone interview? >> yes. >> have you ever seen a transcript of the recording or listened to the recording to know whether or not, in fact, it is there? >> yes. >> and it is there? >> no. >> but your comment is that you think it's a racial thing? >> yes. >> so, in other words, mr. crump didn't record that part of the conversation where he asked you if he thought it was a racial thing but only recorded your answer when you said you think it's a racial thing.

>> she can't testify what she thought she can only testify is what she heard. your question is, did mr. crump ever do that? if she's not around him, there's no way for him to know if he did that when she's not there. she could testify as to what she heard. >> yes. what i'm focusing in on is this. you believe that mr. crump asked you in that recorded interview whether you thought it was a racial thing. >> yes. >> and then when you had a chance to listen to the recording or look at the transcript, you can't find his question anywhere in it. >> no. >> you have had a chance, though, to review your transcripts or prior statements, haven't you?

>> yes. >> so you decided it was a racial thing because someone told you it was a racial thing or you came up with this on your own or why did you conclude that this was a racial thing? >> how the situation happened. how the situation happened. >> how about what was being said on the news? >> on the news? that it happened before the news knew about it. >> so, your belief is that you had the interview with mr. crump before this story was in the news about george zimmerman racially profiling -- you never

heard that before? >> i told you i don't watch the news. >> what about when you talked with tracy martin? did he say when you came forward. we are saying this is a racially motivated murder. >> he just asked if i could talk to his attorney. >> how about when you talked to ms. fulton. did she say would you please come forward and talk to our attorney and record it because we think this is a racially charged event? >> no. >> and you didn't have any information from the news that this was a racially charged event? >> no. i told you i don't watch the news. >> are you okay this morning? >> yes. >> you seem so different than yesterday. just checking. did someone -- >> is that a question? >> yes. did someone talk to you last night about your demeanor in

court? >> no, i went to sleep. >> so, your testimony is that you hadn't heard anything on the news about this being a racially charged incident? >> repeating the answers. >> sustained. >> may i approach, please. >> no. >> you didn't know anything about this case on the news following the shooting on february 26th prior to your interview with mr. crump on march 19th. >> no, sir. i haven't. i told you that yesterday. i don't watch the news. >> no one else told you that there was a lot of noise about this being a racially charged

event? >> no, sir. >> so, when you asked, answered mr. crump's question that is not on the recording what you think about it being a racially charged event, you said, yes, it was. >> yes, sir. >> and what did you base your answer that you thought it was a racial thing. what information did you base that on? >> because that's how the situation happened. >> tell me. what is it about this event specifically that convinced you it was racially based? >> trayvon was being followed and it was around 7:00 and it's not that late. and it was in the rain. >> it was in the rain. >> it was in the rain. it was raining. >> all right. so, it's raining. >> yes.

>> he's out by himself walking around? >> yes. not walking around, just standing under a shade when it's raining. >> you don't really know what he was doing, do you? >> under a shade, yes. >> you don't actually know that, do you? >> i asked him where he was at. he said under a shade. >> so, what you know about this whole event is what mr. martin told you and what you interpreted it to mean? >> objection. argumentive. >> overruled. >> repeat your question. >> that you did. see anything, you weren't there. >> no. >> you still don't know where the mail thing is or where any of the streets are or where on the map trayvon martin was staying, correct? >> no. >> you don't know how far the man was from him at any given point in time. >> he wasn't that far.

a man is watching him. >> right. before i lose track here, everything that you've told us is based upon whatever trayvon martin told you that you could remember. >> yes. >> and then what you interpreted it to mean. >> yes. >> so, when you say it's a racial event, what did he tell you that made you think it was a racial event? >> somebody watching him and then he described the person, the person that was watching him and following him and that was kind of strange and person keep watching you and following you. >> so, he said --

>> he's being stalked. being stalked from that person. >> what makes that racial? >> that wouldn't make that racial. >> one thing about what trayvon martin told you that made you think this was racial? >> describing the person. >> pardon me? >> describing the person. >> i just didn't -- >> describing the person that was watching him and following him, sir. >> i see, describing the person is what made you think it was racial? >> yes. >> that's because he described him. >> yes. >> so, it was racial but it was because trayvon martin put race in this? >> no. >> you don't think that's a racial comment? >> no. >> you don't think that creepy

cracker is a racial comment? >> no. >> well, you didn't mention it in your letter, correct? >> that's just a personal letter to the mother. >> you didn't tell mrs. fulton that the man that was following him was a creepy, did you? >> no. >> you didn't tell mr. crump in the recorded interview that trayvon martin described george zimmerm zimmerman. >> no. >> when you met with mr., you never told h never told him -- >> no, i did say creepy, sir.

>> yes, i agree. you did. you said creepy. >> yes. >> so, the reason you didn't say that, though, was because you didn't think it was relevant? >> nobody asked me. you ask me exactly what trayvon said that night about the person that was following him and watching him. that's what you asked me. when i met up with you. >> so, never before i met with you in march did you ever tell anyone exactly what you heard trayvon martin say? correct? >> about describing the person? >> yes. in any of the interviews where you are asked what was said, what happened next. >> what was said, yes, i did. by describing him. no, i did not. i said creepy. >> you said, some dude's follow -- >> one at a time because the

court reporter has to take down both voices. if you allow her to finish her answer. are you finished with your answer? >> yes. >> you may ask the next question. >> of course, you wouldn't say it to sabrina fuubre sybrina fu >> that was disrespectful. >> yes. you may not consider it a racial comment, but it is certainly offensive, isn't it? >> no. >> you don't think it's offensive? >> no. >> so, but you specifically chose not to tell mrs. fulton that's what trayvon martin said. >> no. >> because you thought it would hurt her feelings, didn't you? >> no. >> you didn't think that would bother her if you said that her son described the man that was following him in a car on the phone --

>> i didn't think that was important. i did not think that was important. >> not important enough to put in the letter. and not important enough to tell her -- >> objection. asked and answered. >> can we move on to another topic? >> just to be clear then, you didn't include that in the letter and you didn't include it on the conversation you had on march 19th with ms. fulton. >> no. >> when you were interviewed by mr. crump and later that day you didn't say it. >> no. >> and then you were interviewed in -- but you did say to mr. crump that you thought the event itself was a racial thing?

>> yes. he asked me and i said yes. >> and i was asking you then what made you think that and then you were saying just because of the description. is that what you're saying? >> yes. >> the description being that there was a man on a phone in a car watching him? >> yes. >> pardon me. >> and follow him. >> right. and you took that to be racial? >> yes. >> without any additional information? >> no . >> on april 2nd, on april 2nd, you had an opportunity to meet with the prosecutor, correct? >> yes. >> up until that point you had never spoken with law enforcement? >> no.

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all right. we want to take you back inside the sanford, florida, courtroom. don west is now questioning rachel jeantel, the woman who was on the cell phone with trayvon martin shortly before he died. he's now asking her about text messages in late april and march. let's listen. >> so when you, i didn't think you watched television. i'm sorry. >> that was before march 19th. march 20th that's when i started paying attention to the news. >> so on march 20th when they had the press copference about you. >> only show half of it saying

trayvon was on the phone with the final moments. >> did the news that you're talking about that had your voice on it was the recording made by abc news? >> yes. i think so. >> did you talk with somebody from abc news separately from your interview with mr. crump? >> yes. >> and when and where was that, please. >> i don't remember. >> i don't remember -- >> i don't remember, it was by phone. >> and when approximately after march 19th was the day that you were interviewed. when did you, after that, talk with the reporter from abc news? >> i don't remember. >> roughly. >> before, before i even talked

to the state attorney. >> some time between march 19th when you gave your interview to mr. crump -- >> yes. >> you didn't know you were being recorded then by abc, correct? >> no. >> but after that, though, you had a separate phone interview with abc? >> yes. >> was it the next day, a week later, any idea? >> no. >> who was it that you talked with? >> i don't know their name. >> did he know your name? >> he knew my real name. >> did you give him a name? i can't hear the witness -- >> can you speak up a little t bit, please. >> he told me he got my number or she had got my number from the abc reporter. she had text me saying she

wanted to know about trayvon. what kind of person he was. can i have a talk about trayvon and what kind of person he was. >> you got a text from somebody that the media wanted to talk with you further? >> it was an abc woman. >> right. >> it was an abc woman. >> and then you gave -- >> she text. >> and then you agreed to have a separate recorded interview? >> yes. >> and you know the person that interviewed you? >> no. >> did you tell them the name diamond eugene? >> i just told them, he asked me, how do you want me to call you? he asked me how he want me to say -- >> so you used the name deedee

to identify yourself? >> no, he didn't ask me that. >> he didn't ask your real name? >> no. >> so, that was some time after march 19th, but before april 2nd, correct? >> yes. >> and did you have any other interviews with anybody between march, between the abc interview and april 2nd? >> no. >> on april 2nd, you were interviewed by mr. del a rionda? >> yes, sir. >> there were other agents there with the florida department? >> yes, sir. >> this was your first interview with law enforcement? >> yes, sir. >> when you interviewed with mr. crump, you were rushed and you didn't take it seriously and you weren't underoath, correct?

>> yes, sir. >> but on april 2nd you were under oath? >> yes, sir. >> and you're being interviewed by the police? >> yes, sir. >> and it was recorded? >> yes, sir. >> from the state attorney's office, now, at this point, the jacksonville state attorney's office was involved in the case as opposed to the seminole county state attorney office, correct? >> yes, sir. >> so, mr. del a rionda said i'm from jacksonville and down here to interview you and introduced you to -- we're going to step away from this for just a second to explain why this line of questioning is so important. and, of course, the defense attorney, don west, is asking rachel jeantel about text messages, phone calls and

television interviews she did in late march. right around that time, there were petitions going around. and things were really heating up. people were trying to urge the sanford police department to charge george zimmerman. in fact, it was right around late march that a special prosecutor was appointed to look over the case to see if charges would be filed. let's head to sanford now and check in with sunny hostin. tell me further why this line of questioning is important, sunny. >> sure, carol. bottom line is for this witness, the star witness for the prosecution credibility is everything. will this jury believe her? so, the defense's job is to poke holes into her story and one way to do that is to find out if she's given different versions of her story to different people. there's always that feeling, i think, by people that if you speak to the media that perhaps you're a fame seeker or perhaps you're trying to sell your story

or make your story more sensational so the defense will want to point out that she was speaking to the media as opposed to speaking to the police department. they will try to find out the substance of those conversations and whether or not those conversations were different with the conversations that she did have with law enforcement officers when she was under oath. so, this is actually a critical piece of questioning for the defense. they got to try to catch her in some lies. >> she never called police or prosecutors or anybody and told them that she was on the phone with trayvon martin. i believe don west is now asking her about when police did finally question her about the phone call. let's listen. >> right beside you during this interview was trayvon martin's mother, sybrina fulton, correct? >> yes, sir. >> mr. martin was also there, but not in the room, correct?

>> no, sir. he left before i stepped inside the living room. >> he left the living room, in other words? >> yes, sir. >> you don't know that he left the residence, do you? >> no, sir. >> he may have still been there, but just not in the room with you. >> yes, sir. >> also in the room was one or more martin family attorneys, correct? >> yes, sir. >> who were they? >> i don't know their names, sir. >> do you know natalie jackson? >> yes, sir. >> was she there? >> on top of the stairs. >> you knew she was there and

present, correct? >> yes, sir. >> was mr. crump present? >> no, he left before we stepped inside the house. >> but you saw him that night. >> not that night, that afternoon. >> when you say that afternoon, tell me about that. i'm sorry, maybe i misspoke. the interview itself took place in the early evening, didn't it? >> yes, sir. >> so you met with mr. crump earlier that day? >> no, sir. >> tell me then what you mean that you saw him? >> when he went to -- the detective and then -- >> i'm sorry, detective and -- >> ms. sybrina and he had join in. came with them to pick me up from my residence so i could go back there and interview with the state.

that's my first time meeting crump. >> the other time it was only on the phone. when you talked with him. >> when i interviewed, yes. >> on this date, april 2nd, 2012. you met him because he was one of the people that went to your friend's house to pick you up? >> yes. >> to bring you to ms. fulton's house, correct? >> yes. >> this interview took place in ms. sybrina fulton's living room? >> yes. >> so they came to pick you up with -- but of your friend's house? >> yes. >> mr. crump came to get you, correct? >> not come and get me. he was in another car. >> two cars came to get you. >> detectives and stuff. that afternoon mr. crump was in one of the cars that was dispatched to come pick you up? >> yes. >> you were in the front yard of your friend's house? >> yes, sir.

>> and law enforcement was also involved in picking you up? >> yes, sir. >> you don't know why law enforcement would permit mr. crump to come with them. >> i don't know. >> beyond the witness' knowledge. >> sustained. beyond her knowledge. >> i am asking whether she knew or not and she said no. the court would give me a little leeway on this. >> ask your next question. >> do you know why law enforcement allowed mr. crump to come with them to pick you up? >> no, sir. >> who else was there? was mrs. fulton with them? >> yes, sir. >> do you know why law enforcement allowed ms. fulton to be there? >> because she's the only person who knew where my friend live at. she lived boy my friend. >> ms. fulton lives near where your friend lives? >> yes. >> but law enforcement had your phone number, they could have just called and asked you where

you were, correct? >> yes, sir. >> mr. crump had your phone number. he could have called and asked where you were? pardon me. >> i'm not sure he had my number. i do not know if crump had my number. >> in the interview, he took of you on march 19th, didn't he say we're having trouble with this phone, let me call you back? >> he had my number then. >> a 904 number. and he called you back on your phone. >> yes, sir. >> ms. jeantel, i'm not saying you did anything wrong. please don't take it that way. i'm trying to understand the dynamics of this, though. >> i know, sir. >> okay a, thank you. if i'm harsh in my tone, i'm not suggesting you did anything wrong here. but i'm trying to understand what the overall context of this

first law enforcement interview was. so, the people that came to pick you up included law enforcement, but it also included ben crump and >> may we approach the ben? >> just ask a question, who was there? >> i would like permission to ask leading questions of this witness on cross-examination one step at a time. >> and i've asked you to do it one step at a time. >> my question is this, just to be clear as to who was present, law enforcement, agents were present? >> yes. >> ben crump was present, sybrina fulton was present in these two vehicles that came to pick you up on the afternoon of april 2nd, 2012? >> yes, sir. >> and was mr. della region da

present? >> i don't remember him. >> do you know of anybody else being present? >> i do remember a tall dude. >> i do remember some. >> a tall person? >> did you ever see him again later that evening? >> yes, sir. >> was he in the room? >> yes, sir. >> you don't recall his name, though? >> tc. >> tc. do you know that person to be an investigator with mr. de la region da-- rionda's office. >> was there anybody else? >> in the car? >> either of the cars? >> i don't know who was in the other car but i did know who was in the car [ inaudible ]. >> i can't hear you, mam ma'am. >> could you speak a little louder. >> i do not know who was in the other car, but i do know who was in the car i was in. >> let's start there, then.

who was in the car with you? >> tc and i think he was in the car that i -- i think he was in the car. >> mr. de la ri yon da. >> i did see a bald dude. no offense. and -- >> okay. we have a juror that didn't hear the answer. could you please speak up? if you could face the microphone a little bit better. >> tc. >> that's the wrong microphone. >> speak there. >> yes. try that. . >> tc, in the front of the car was tc. ball headed dude. >> this guy?

>> yeah. sorry. i didn't know you. and sybrina and me. >> and you went from your friend's house to miss fulton's house. >> yes, sir. >> and the people that you've already identified so far were in the room with you when the interview took place? >> yes, sir. >> anybody else? any other family members? >> no, sir. >> any other lawyers? >> another lawyer from the martin family. >> a big guy? >> a big guy, yes, sir. >> do you know his name? >> no, sir. >> would you know it if i said it? >> no, sir. >> no? so when the interview began and miss fulton's living room, you were seated next to miss fulton and were the other people that you've identified, other than tracy martin, in the room then? or close by?

>> yes, sir. was in the living room. >> i take it you knew that miss fulton would be hearing exactly what you said because you were sitting next to her? >> yes, sir. >> and you certainly didn't want to say anything that you thought would hurt her feelings or make her grief even worse? >> yes, sir. >> so because of that, you were very sensitive to miss fulton's feelings when you answered mr. della rionda's questions? >> we have to take another break. we'll be right back with more. .

let's go back to that sanford courtroom right now. rachel jeantel, the defense asking her about her first police interrogation about the matter, about what was said in that last phone call with trayvon martin and why so many people accompanied her to this police interview, including trayvon martin's parents and the parents' lawyer. let's listen. >> you were making it sound different than it actually was, to keep from hurting miss fulton's feelings? >> not at all, sir. >> i'm sorry? >> not all of them, sir. >> not all of the answers, correct? >> yes. >> but some of the answers? >> yes, sir. >> some of the answers about language, for example? >> yes. that's the only one -- >> yes? >> that's the only thing that i

changed around, yes. >> that's the only thing that i changed around? >> that i did not say. >> so the only thing that you didn't say that was accurate was the language that trayvon martin used? >> yes, sir. i didn't think it was that important. he did not ask me what was trayvon -- he did not ask me if trayvon was describing the man. he just told me -- i didn't think it was that important at all. he had asked me how trayvon [ inaudible ] -- i said creepy, only thing i said was creepy. i'm not going to say it in front of people. >> you weren't going to say what trayvon martin actually said in front of his mother?

>> yes. >> of course. of course. no one is arguing with you about that. but that's the decision that you made, was basically to clean it up? >> yes, sir. >> you knew she was grieving. she had just lost a son. you were very sensitive to that, correct? >> yes, sir. >> in fact, as you were explaining what happened in answering mr. de la rionda's questions with miss fulton sitting beside you, she was crying, wasn't she? >> she had this -- not crying. just tearing up about when i start telling what happened that night. >> again, it's so hard to hear, but did you say that she may -- she wasn't crying but she was tearing up? >> yeah. just tearing up. >> tears coming out of her eyes?

>> yes. >> do you associate that with pain and grief and suffering? >> of course. >> you also, though, told mr. del delde la rionda under oath you had gone to the hospital, correct? >> he had asked me did i go to the hospital and i said yeah. >> so, you -- i know that you had said that earlier to mr. crump and to miss fulton, to give a plausible explanation to them for why you didn't go to the memorial service or the wake. is that right? >> yes, sir. >> and then when mr. de la rionda asked you about it again, you gave the same answer? >> yes, sir. >> but you knew that was a lie? >> yes, sir.

>> again, you lied because you wanted to give a plausible answer to miss fulton as to why you didn't go to the wake? >> yes, sir. >> but on the april -- >> good morning. i'm carol costello. welcome to "newsroom." you're watching rachel jeantel continuing to be questioned by george zimmerman's attorneys in the trial. this is the last woman who had the conversation with trayvon martin before he died. this morning she gave differing accounts of what was said on that phone call. the defense attorney is now asking her about when the police questioned her, sanford police finally questioned her, months after the event, and with her were trayvon martin's parents along with the parents' attorneys. let's listen..

>> in the interview -- in the first conversation with miss fulton on march 19th and there's a letter on march 19th, at no time did you mention that you heard trayvon martin say a little get off get off? correct? >> yes, sir. >> is that yes, you did not say that. >> yes, sir. >> what's your question again? >> in the -- in the meeting you had, the conversation you had with miss fulton on march 19th before you did the interview later, and in the written statement that you and miss sir prepared for miss fulton, personal statement, in neither of those instances did you say that you heard trayvon martin say, as you said later, a little

get off get off, correct? >> yes, sir. >> and that's because you didn't think that was important at that point? >> miss crump and miss fulton did not ask me about when -- when the fight started in the grass. they did not ask me about that. he asked me about that. >> so when you decided what part of what you knew to tell miss fulton your decided not to tell her that part? >> objection. argumentative. >> she didn't ask me. >> i'm not sure that was her answer, so you need to reask the question. i believe she said they never asked her that. >> all right. now i'm asking about this witness's thinking. so when you decided what part of the information that you had about the events on the evening

of february 26th, you decided in what to tell miss fulton, not to tell her that you'd heard a little get off get off from trayvon martin? >> objection. compound question, argumentative and mischaracterizing what this witness has previously said. >> as far as compound, do you understand the question? >> no, ma'am. >> pardon? >> no, ma'am. >> okay. you need to break it down then. she says she doesn't understand. >> okay. on march 19th. >> yes, sir. >> you had a meeting with miss fulton. >> yes, sir. >> out in front of her home. >> yes, sir. >> you had already written the letter with miss sur to give to her? >> yes, sir.

>> when you wrote the letter about what happened on the evening of february 26th, and decided what to put in it, you made the decision not to include that you heard trayvon martin say a little get off get off? >> yes, sir. >> and then when you went to miss fulton's house to talk with her and she was so anxious to know what happened -- >> i did not go inside her house, sir. >> i know that. you were out front. >> yes, sir. >> when you went to miss fulton's house with the letter in hand, to talk with her and she so desperately wanted to know what had happened, you, among the things that you chose to tell her, decided not to tell her that you heard her son say a little get off get off, on the phone? >> yes, sir. >> and you're saying that's because she didn't specifically ask you? >> no, sir.

>> could you explain your thinking? >> i didn't want to be there, sir. >> of all the things that you decided were important to tell her to write in the letter -- >> she did not ask me for examples. >> she did not ask me for? >> examples. >> she did not ask me for examples? >> examples, reason, none of that. the state asked me that. crump did not ask me that either. no, sir. >> well, how would they know to ask you if you didn't tell them what you knew? >> objection. he's wanting the witness to get into my mind why he would ask something or not. >> to the extent explaining something why or why not the state did something, i'm going to sustain.

>> whether or not someone specifically asked you, you made the decision not to volunteer that information? >> i didn't think it was important. without being asked about the situation. >> i didn't think it was -- >> i did not think it was important, i was not being asked for that -- that part. it didn't matter. he had asked me that. the state had asked me that. >> all right. we'll talk about that in a little more detail in a minute, but let's -- let's progress now to the interview that you gave to mr. crump on the phone on march 19th, later the same day. you acknowledge that nowhere in that -- what was it, about 30 minutes altogether?

>> you are asking me? >> the interview? >> i don't remember. >> but nowhere during that interview did you say in response to any question, specific or general, that you'd heard trayvon martin say a little "get off get off". >> he did ask me when the fight happened. i had told him the phone shut off. he asked me did you hear when they was fighting going on, did you hear something was going on between the fight. no, he did not ask me that. the state asked me that. sir. >> well, what you told mr. crump was, that you heard trayvon martin say, why are you following me? and then you heard mr. zimmerman say either what are you talking

about or what are you doing around here? and then you heard something that you described as sort of a bump. and that the phone cut off? >> i had told him the bump got to be his headset. his headset is always on his left ear. and the speaker. >> yes. and what you said to mr. crump was, at that point, the phone cut off? >> yes. simple and quick. >> once the phone cuts off. >> i had called back. >> there's nothing else that you have to say, correct? because once the phone cuts off you certainly can't hear anything else that might have been said because the phone had been disconnected? >> yes, sir. >> so you told mr. crump that the phone cut off. >> yes, sir. sn>>

>>. >> so if you say at the point where there was this exchange, the conversation, the exchange, and the bump and the phone cut off, doesn't that leave the impression that there was nothing else you could hear after that? >> yes, sir. >> and you didn't at that point say, oh, by the way, no, i heard more after that actually? >> he didn't ask me more, sir. the state had asked me more. sir. >> well, are you saying then that when you told mr. crump that after you heard the bump and the phone cut off, that you decided not to tell him that

after the bump, but before the phone cut off, you heard trayvon martin say a little "get off get off". >> objection, compound question. >> do you understand the question? >> yes, ma'am. >> you may answer. >> like i told you from the beginning, that interview, i think it last like 13 minutes, i don't know, it didn't last for that long. so i had to rush because i really did not want to be on the phone, sir. so i did not take my time and just like i -- i took my time, i had more time when i was talking to the state. with crump, no. so the question is no. >> so of all the things you thought might be important for them to know about what you knew -- >> i told you -- >> you decided not to say that

before the phone shut off, you heard trayvon martin say a little "get off get off". >> objection. asked and answered. >> let's have it answered one more time and move on. >> may we approach the bench, please? >> no. she can answer the question. go ahead and answer. >> yes, sir. >> so you made the decision then not to tell mr. crump that you'd actually heard trayvon martin say, get off, get off, because you were in a hurry? >> objection. asked and answered. >> the word in a hurry is an additional part to that question, so i will allow it. you may answer. >> yes, sir. because crump is not law enforcement. >> so you weren't worried about telling him first of all the truth or the whole story? >> first of all, crump is not law enforcement. he's not an officer. i knew that he was not an officer. so like i told the mother, from

the beginning, if an officer onces to talk to me, know the exact story, everything about what happened that night, they will reach me at my number. you got it? >> if i got it, what i heard you to say is, you told miss fulton that if they wanted to hear everything that an officer that you would tell everything to an officer? >> yes, sir. >> but they didn't put an officer in contact with you? >> i don't know about that, sir. >> you know you didn't get any messages or get any calls from an officer? >> objection. asked and answered. >> overruled. >> no, sir. >> so when you were then talking with mr. crump, in this recorded interview, for the first time ever being asked to tell the story about what you knew, you were in a hurry and among the

things that you chose not to say was that before the phone cut off, but after the bump, you heard trayvon martin say, a little get off get off? >> objection. asked and answered. >> this will be the last time the question will be asked and answered. you may answer. >> yes, sir. >> so let's move then to the april 2nd interview where you did have a chance to tell mr. de la rionda everything. >> yes, sir. >> and that was your purpose? >> yes, sir.

>> this was the interview by law enforcement that you had been waiting for? >> yes, sir. >> that you knew was coming? >> yes, sir. >> and that you were ready to tell everything just like it was? >> yes, sir. >> even if that was different than what you had said before? >> i never thought the mother -- the interview at the mother's house with the mother -- >> can you read that back? i never thought the mother the interview at the mother's house with the mother -- is that what you said? >> yes. >> have you had a chance to read the transcript of your interview with mr. de la rionda on april

2nd, 2012? >> not taall of it. >> when is the last time you had a chance to look at it? >> all right. before she gets into what she told police during that interrogation on april 2nd, we want to get into break. we'll be right back. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 [ trader ] when i'm trading, i'm so into it, tdd# 1-800-345-2550 hours can go by before i realize tdd# 1-800-345-2550 that i haven't even looked away from my screen. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 ♪ tdd# 1-800-345-2550 that kind of focus... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 that's what i have when i trade. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 ♪ tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and the streetsmart edge trading platform tdd# 1-800-345-2550 from charles schwab helps me keep an eye tdd# 1-800-345-2550 on what's really important to me. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it's packed with tools that help me work my strategies,

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and that's why when diet and exercise alone aren't enough to lower cholesterol i prescribe crestor. [ female announcer ] crestor is not right for everyone. like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking. call your doctor right away if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired, have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of rare but serious side effects. is your cholesterol at goal? ask your doctor about crestor. [ female announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. >> let's head back into the courtroom, rachel jeantel, the woman on the phone before he died, asking about her police interrogation and how she prepared for it. let's listen. >> you and martin would be talking and for no apparent reason the call would be lost? >> yes, sir. >> not because you hung up?

correct? >> no, sir. >> or because that you know of -- >> bad signal. >> pardon me? >> bad signal. >> you were plagued with a bad signal all day? >> yes, sir. >> and you really never knew when the phone was going to disconnect? >> no, sir. >> usually what was happening is when the phone disconnected, one or the other of you would call each other back? >> yes, sir. >> so throughout the course of the day, you wound up actually speaking with each other several hours? >> yes, sir. >> what you remember about this case, though, and the phone disconnecting was, that there were points in time within the conversation after george zimmerman saw trayvon martin and began watching him, that the phone hung up and that you

dialed mr. martin back or that he dialed you back? >> yes, sir. >> and then there were points in time where you would remember what was happening after the call was reconnected? >> yes, sir. >> it's your recollection that while at the mailbox, that's when the phone hung up at least once? >> yes, sir. >> and before that, after mr. zimmerman was keeping his eye on trayvon martin, do you remember the phone hanging up an having to reconnect? >> yes, sir. after he began -- begun walking back home to try to lose the gshs george zimmerman, whatever. george. >> first before you get to that, we were using this point where trayvon martin says to you that mr. zimmerman is watching him.

so from that point, you said the phone did cut off a couple times after that. but think this first. before that point, do you remember talking to trayvon martin after he entered the complex and having the phone disconnect? >> yes, sir. >> where was he and when in the conversation did that take place? >> the [ inaudible ] area. the [ inaudible ] area. >> the only time you remember the phone disconnect iing prioro learning from mr. martin that george zimmerman was keeping his eye on him was while -- well what you believed to be the when mr. martin was at the mail area? >> yes, sir. >> and after that, so after mr. martin left the mail area as best as you know and began

walking towards where his -- where trayvon was staying. >> yes, sir. >> did the phone cut off again? >> yes, sir. >> and then did you call him back? >> yes, sir. >> and then after you called him back, that was, in fact, the last call of the evening between you and mr. martin? >> yes, sir. >> that's the call that cut off? >> yes, sir. . >> the call that you lost or that was disconnected, before the last call, was when mr. martin was -- >> started walking back. >> walking toward where he was staying? >> yes sir. >> and he was -- he had told you at that point that the man was in the car some. >> yes, sir. >> the man was on the phone

some. >> yes, sir. >> and that he was -- had decided to go ahead and go on home? >> yes, sir. >> and you told him to do that, right? >> yes, sir. >> in fact, you told him to run? >> yes, sir. >> and as far as you know, he did? >> yes, sir. >>ing and and at the point he zimmerman was still in the car? >> i don't know about that sir because he told me the man started following him, sir. >> let's break it down, step by step. at the point that you told trayvon martin to run, your understanding from piecing it all together was that trayvon martin was headed towards the back of where his father was staying? >> he was going to run -- >> from the back? >> yes. >> which means to go in the back of the house as opposed to the front. >> yes. to try to lose the man who was following him.

>> got you. so at that point, when he was walking and decided to go on home. >> yes, sir. >> that mr. zimmerman was still in the car? >> still following him, sir? >> in the car? >> yes, sir. >> and that mr. zimmerman was on the phone? >> i didn't know about the phone, sir. >> i thought you said that trayvon martin told you -- >> that's when he was watching him. he was watching him. trayvon had told me the man was just on the phone watching him. >> so trayvon martin had told you that when he noticed the man watching him, that the man was in a car and that the man was on the phone? >> he was watching him, yes, sir. >> exactly. >> yes, sir. >> and that he started walking in the direction of his home? >> yes sir. >> and that the man followed him? >> yes, sir. kept following him. >> yes. in the car? >> yes, sir.

>> and that you had a conversation with mr. martin where you told him -- well just run on him? >> yes, sir. >> and as far as you know, he did? correct? >> no, sir. he had -- i told him run home. and then he said no. no. na is no. second later he told me he's going to make a run for the back area where his father's fiancee lives. >> let's break that down just a little bit. so at the point -- at the point that he says the man's following me. >> yes. he was trying to lose the man. >> let's break it down this way. mr. martin leaves what you think is the mail area and -- >> yes, sir. >> walks in the direction of where he stayed? >> yes, sir.

yes? >> yes, sir. >> and at that point mr. zimmerman was still in his vehicle? >> yes, sir. >> and mr. martin continued to walk? >> yes, sir. >> and he observed and told you that the man is following him in the car? >> yes, sir. >> and then you said, well run? >> yes, sir. >> and he did run? >> to the back area to try to -- >> well, he wasn't in -- he was on the street or on the sidewalk in front of mr. zimmerman's car at the point that he decided to run? >> yes, sir. >> and he ran? >> yes, sir. to the back area to try to lose him. >> you don't know whether he ran in the direction where you could only travel by foot or whether you could drive? >> no, sir.

i don't live in that area. >> agreed. no. >> what you knew at that point, though, was that mr. zimmerman was still in his vehicle. probably still on the phone because trayvon martin never said he wasn't. >> objection, speculating as to what mr. zimmerman was doing or not regarding the phone. >> sustained. rephrase your question, please. >> mr. martin never said he wasn't on the phone? >> the only time that trayvon told me the man was on the phone when he was at the mail area. that's the only time. i never knew about the other -- he was still on the phone. he never told me about that. >> right. >> he just told me the man started following him. >> and that was he on the phone and he never told you that he wasn't on the phone? >> no. >> but he was still in the car? >> yeah. yes, sir.

>> and then that -- you said well run? and he ran? correct? >> yeah. from the back area. >> that's what's confusing. when you say ran from the back, are you saying that at the point that he decided to run. >> yes. >> that he decided to run from where he was to the back of where he was staying? >> yes. >> and you don't know what direction he took to head that way? >> no, sir. >> because you don't know where was at the point he decided to run? >> no, sir. >> but you do know that he ran? >> yes, sir. >> and you could tell because you could hear the wind? >> yes, sir. >> and then the phone cut off? >> yes, sir. i think. yes. yes, sir. >> so at that point, you knew that he was running? >> yes, sir. [ inaudible ]. when i called back.

>> well, let me take it a little slow. >> we have to break away and take a break. we'll be right back. >> you didn't know if he was running around on the street or sidewalk -- mine was earned in djibouti, africa. 2004. vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. the great outdoors... ...and a great deal. thanks to dad. (gasp) nope. aw! guys! grrrr let's leave the deals to hotels.com.

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all right. the defense is trying to determine exactly what rachel heard on that phone call, right before trayvon martin died. she said trayvon martin said a man was following him in the car on the phone so he decided to run to the back of the dwellings to get away from him. rachel testified she knew that because of the sound of wind in the phone and then she said the phone went out. let's listen. >> present to you those times were taken from the actual phone company records. >> yes, sir. >> so you don't have any argument with that. >> no, sir. >> well, take a look at the second to last call.

>> yes, sir. >> it began at 6:54:16 p.m. and disconnected at 7:11:47. do you see that? >> yes, sir. >> the next call picked up at 7:12:06. do you see that? >> yes, sir. >> and disconnected at 7:15:43? >> yes, sir. >> so let's work backwards. let's assume that assume at 7:15:43 the phone cut off. >> yes. >> when you were describing the interaction between mr. martin and mr. zimmerman. >> yes, sir. >> so that call had started at 7:12:06 which was a little over three minutes, correct? >> yes, sir. >> and there weren't any interruptions in that phone call? >> no, sir. >> and frankly you don't know at

7:15:43 when the phone cut off, whether it cut off for any reason other than it was just one more lost call? >> no, sir. >> so look at the other call though, the one before it, where it says it disconnected at a 7:11:47. do you see that in. >> yes, sir. >> and that the next call started at 7:12:06. >> yes, sir. >> if you do the math and figure out how long it was between 7:11:47 and 7:12:06, to me, that is -- >> if you need to take a copy of that. >> step back. >> that's about 19 seconds, correct? >> yes, sir. >> so does that seem to you to be about right if, that when

trayvon martin ran, ran towards the back of his father's house, while george zimmerman was in the car, that about 20 seconds elapsed before your call reconnected? >> yes, sir. >> so the only time from before 7:00, before any part of this case actually started. >> yes, sir. >> you were on the phone with mr. martin for all of that time except about 20 seconds? >> yes, sir. >> and it was the 20 seconds we're talking about where mr. martin had decided to run and then you reconnected with him?

>> yes, sir. >> would this be a good time for a short recess. >> only a brief recess, yes. we're going to take a 15-minute recess. if you'll just remain seated, miss jeantel. ladies and gentlemen, put your note pda pads face down on the chair. the court going into a recess for a short time. let's bring in our panel of legal analysts. we have attorney paul butler in washington, d.c., a prosecutor, and sunny hostin is in sanford, florida, where the trial is taking place. thank you for being here. what the defense is trying to do is shoot holes in rachel's story about what exactly she heard trayvon martin say that night. there were differing accounts. in fact, when rachel talked to trayvon martin's mother she

neglected to tell her someone on -- trayvon martin said to someone, get off, get off. she also neglected to tell that to the martin family lawyer, benjamin crump and then suddenly, maybe she remembered or maybe she thought to tell prosecutors and police that oh, yeah, i heard trayvon martin saying, get off, get off. >> what do you make of this, paul butler? >> well, again, i think she's quite sympathetic. yesterday she was kind of combative. somebody got to tis girl overnight and told her to lose the attitude and today, frankly, the longer you see her, the more sympathetic she is. she says that she didn't tell everything to the lawyer or to the mother because she wanted to spare the mom the gory dails of the last moments of her teenage son's life before he was gunned down. is that a credible sympathetic reason to the jurors, you bet it is. >> something making the rounds in the twitter verse and

on-line, page, is that when the defense attorney asked rachel, because supposedly trayvon martin called george zimmerman a creepy -- cracker and asked her if she thought that was a racially offensive term and she said no. now the twitter verse is lit up saying you got to be kidding. that obviously is. why is that important? >> i don't know that it is ultimately important. obviously this witness does not like this lawyer. she does not like cross examined. she does not like being questioned. i think at the end of the day the jury is going to sift through her testimony, focus on the small inconsistencies and there have been some but they're going to focus on the big insist kis like not saying that trayvon said get off get off. i think that's critical and going to hurt her credibility. >> and she gave two differing accounts of that too, didn't she? sometimes she said trayvon martin said get off, get off, sometimes she said that trayvon martin said what are you talking about? i mean there are differing accounts of what she overheard

trayvon martin saying to george zimmerman? >> well, most certainly there appear to be inconsistencies and that's what a defense attorney's job is, to make sure that those inconsistencies are highlighted. and i think don west is doing that. but i will tell you, i don't understand the trial strategy of having a teenage witness who heard what she is saying was the last moments of trayvon martin's life on the witness stand for so long. this is reminiscent for me of his almost three-hour long opening statement in comparison to the 32-minute prosecutor opening statement. he doesn't seem to have a great courtroom sense into when it's too much. with this witness you get in, you get out. make the point, make the point she has been inconsistent and leave her alone. the longer she stays on the witness stand, i've got to tell you, carol, she does seem to me to be more and more sympathetic. she's very authentic. i don't think she's the type of witness you can coach.

i've had witnesses like rachel and the jury tends to get endeared to the plight of someone who's a reluctant witness on the stand. i think don west needs to tighten this up an get her off the witness stand. >> one of the most heartbreaking things that came out in testimony was apparently she wrote a letter to trayvon martin's mother. it was written in cursive. don west, the defense attorney, gave the letter to rachel and said, read this, and she said, i don't read cursive. i can't read cursive. your heart broke for her. and then at other times, don west actually -- and paul you pointed this out, because it seems that rachel's demeanor had changed from yesterday. she wasn't as combative. at one point, the defense attorney asked her about that. let's listen. >> are you okay this morning? >> yes. >> you seem so different than yesterday. just checking. did someone talk with you -- >> is that a question? >> did someone talk with you last night about your demeanor in court yesterday?

>> no. i went to sleep. >> so page, as a defense attorney, did you wins? wins? >> i did. >> mr. west did the right thing and leave that issue alone and into the substance of what she said. i think you can do this too much. i think at some point the defense has to say look, we've pointed out the inconsistencies, now it's time to back off and not continue to confront this witness or she will become a sympathetic witness. >> so how much longer do you think this testimony will drag on? because you know, we just said that rachel's demeanor had changed and for the most part it has, but there was one point where she got a little snippy with don west. let's listen. >> first of all, crump is not law enforcement. he's not an officer. i knew that he was not an officer. so like i told the mother, from the beginning, if an officer wants to talk to me, know the exact story, everything about

what happened, that night, they will reach me at my number. you got it? >> paul, do you think that don west is deliberately trying to rattle her to make her angry? >> if he is he's doing that at his own peril because it's going to make him look like a bully. this is a 19-year-old high school senior who was talking to a friend when he was brutally shot down. is she sympathetic? yes. is he if he keeps badgering at her? the jury is going to feel like he's bullying her and wasting their time. and carol, let's remember what she testified yesterday, that george zimmerman was this creepy guy who was virtually stalking trayvon martin and then he jumped trayvon and trayvon tried to run away saying get off me, get off me. there's really very ril that the defense has done to discredit that testimony. >> interesting. okay. we're going to take a quick break and when we come back we're going to take you live to

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for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. 44 minutes past the hour. checking our top stories now, nelson mandela is now on life support. the south african president jacob zuma says the anti-apartheid icon is better today, though zuma did cancel a

foreign trip because of mandela's declining health. mandela is fighting a lung infection. his daughter says anything is imminent. president obama is set to visit south africa this week. >> speaking of president obama, he weighed in this morning on u.s. official's hunt for edward snowden. speaking to reporters in se ne gal the reporter said i'm not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker but the president added he's concerned about other documents snowden might have. an american businessman who claimed he was held hostage by his chinese employees has been freed. chip spent six days trapped in the suburban beijing factory of specialty medical supplies in china. it comes after he and his workers inked a new compensation agreement. >> under way in new york city, a public funeral for actor james and gandolfini. celebrities turning out to -- the broadway star. flags in new jersey have been

flying at half staff. he died last week at the age of 51. stocks edging higher this morning, much higher, going for a third day of gains after a rocky start to the week. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. what's going on? >> the dow back above 15,000 after dropping below that marker last week. nothing like a little bad news, carol, to get the market moving. remember when fed chief ben bernanke said he would consider scaling back at the end of the year the amount of money the fed is pouring into the financial system. it's an idea by the way that investors aren't sweet on. well, he said that wouldn't -- that would happen if the economy showed improvement. well, guess what? yesterday an important number came out showing the economy isn't doing so terrific. it showed that economic growth in the u.s. is anemic. what you're seeing happen now is investors are buying into the market, buying stocks again, on hopes that the fed will delay that scaling back. for this morning you're seeing

investors buy in not so much on the data that came in today, because we did get jobless numbers and data that came in okay but seeing them buy in on i guess the thought that bad news is good news which is so skewed but that's how wall street thinks. >> so bizarre. bad news is whatever. alison kosik, thanks so much. the george zimmermanp murder trial set to take up in about three minutes at 10:50 eastern time. we'll take you back to the courtroom after this. ♪ [ engine revs ] ♪ [ male announcer ] just when you thought you had experienced performance, a new ride comes along and changes everything. ♪ the 2013 lexus gs, with a dynamically tuned suspension and adjustable drive modes.

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natural energy from green tea plus fruits and veggies. need a little kick? ooh! could've had a v8. in the juice aisle. need a little kick? ooh! did you i did. email? so what did you think of the house? well it's got a great kitchen, but did you see the school rating? oh, you're right. oh hey babe, i got to go. ok. come here sweetie, say bye to daddy. bye daddy! have a good day at school ok? ok. ...but what about when my parents visit? i just don't think there's enough room. lets keep looking. ok. i just love this one, i mean look at it... and it's next to a park i love it i love it too. what do you think of our new house? i'm most excited about the pool. me too sweetie. here's our new house... daddy!

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our legal analyst at cnn, former prosecutor. she's live in sanford, florida. sunny, i wondered what the mood was in sanford these days? >> i'm not seeing a lot of protesters. people are, though, talking about it. i just went this morning to get some tea at dunkin' donuts and everyone is aware of this trial. i will tell you i've been asking folks have you seen rachel's testimony, what do you think? everyone that i've spoken to here in san sanford said i find her credible, believable, she has said things that -- and why would she make these things up? so that certainly has been interesting to me. and -- but the mood here is pretty somber. the courtroom as you can see is packed. is completely packed. but not a lot of activity outside of the courthouse. >> and, of course, the defense is trying to blow holes in her story saying she's changed her story several times, but she's been on the stand for such a

long period of time. not only this morning, but yesterday too. paige, this jury is full of moms. what do you think they're thinking right now, because after all, this is a teenager on the stand? >> right. i think we always have to keep in the back of our minds the makeup of this jury is critical. and that's always true in a criminal case. there are going to be some jurors who will side with this witness who will believe the story that the martin family is telling and they're going to want to give her the benefit of the doubt. they're going to defend her when the defense attacks her. i think by having moms on the jury, that's important. the racial makeup of the jury is important. those things are critical in almost any criminal defense matter. >> you talk about the racial makeup of the jury, all white jury, all women, one is either hispanic or part african-american, we're not sure, but mostly it's an all white jury. one of the comments inside the courtroom today had to do with the cracker comment. it's all over twitter. it's all over the blogs. let's listen.

>> describing the person is what made you think it was racial? >> yes. >> that's because he described him as a creepy -- cracker? >> yes. >> so it was racial but it was because trayvon martin put race in this? >> no. >> you don't think that's a racial comment? >> no. >> you don't think that creepy -- cracker is a racial comment? >> no. >> so paul butler, i wasn't sure where the defense was going with this? was he trying to say that rachel injected race into this matter and then he was trying to prove that no, it was really trayvon martin? what was he trying to prove? >> what defense attorneys do in a case like this is put the victim on trial. they try to dirty them up in mailen different ways, little micro ways and think that's what

he's doing. everybody knows young people today talk about race and think about race differently than a lot of the rest of us. for example, she said trayvon described mr. zimmerman using the "n" word and mr. zimmerman is white and hispanic. seemed like a bizarre way to talk about him. that's the way young people now talk about race. it's a different lexicon. >> i'm sure that african-americans would take this one way and perhaps white america would take it another way. paige, you're a member of white america, i'll put you on the spot. if you were on the jury how would you take that? >> i don't want to put myself in that position but there are a lot of people, depending on their background r going to have a hard time relating to this witness's testimony. what the defense is trying to do is show to the jury she's biased and that everyone on that side of this issue has already assumed this was racial matter and they're injecting race into

the case. it's dangerous. obviously it's really important now as to how the jury is receiving this information. we're not going to know that until we see a verdict. >> why do you say it's dangerous? >> when you start talking about race in the middle of a criminal trial you're going to upset folks and offend possibly jurors. you don't want to go too far with that. you want the jury to come to their own conclusions as to whether this was racially motivated or not. you don't want to tell them not. >> which was strange because didn't defense attorneys fight to keep the term racial profilings out of the proceedings? >> they did. they were successful in getting the term race removed from racial profiling but the prosecutor opened on the fact that this was a case they believe george zimmerman profiled trayvon martin. what is think is interesting is that listen, race has been the elephant in the room from the very beginning. when george zimmerman was first arrested, the government used the term profiling. that's code for racial

profiling. and so i think that, you know, while we know that don west is now asking her about race, i don't know that she has injected race into this case or that trayvon martin injected race into this case. bottom line is that the government alleges that it is george zimmerman who injected race in this case by profiling trayvon martin because he called 911 several times to indicate that young, black male were burglarizing his home and he profiled as the prosecution alleges he may have profiled trayvon martin as a young african-american male in his community up to no good. >> all right. we're still awaiting trial to resume. we'll be back with much more in the newsroom. [ female announcer ] a classic macaroni & cheese from stouffer's starts with freshly-made pasta, and 100% real cheddar cheese. but what makes stouffer's mac n' cheese best of all. that moment you enjoy it at home. stouffer's. made with care for you or your family.

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good morning, everyone. i'm ashleigh banfield. a busy show ahead. they're on a pause in that courtroom in the george zimmerman case. we're going to get you back in there as soon as the mikes flash back up again an the action gets

back under way. and in the meantime what a day it has been. she was on the phone with trayvon martin in the final moments of his life and now she is back on the witness stand today facing a very tough cross-examination, especially for a teenager. all of this after recounting her friend's deadly fight with george zimmerman. two major stories developing. in africa, this hour, president obama taking the world stage as the man who inspired his political career, nelson mandela, clings to life. and michael jackson's 16-year-old son testifies his father often cried and said, quote, they're going to kill me. all of that right before he died. find out just who they are and if they are in trouble because of it. up until just yesterday, be she was a 19-year-old student in 12th grade, largely