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GOP Leader Walks Out of Negotiations; Bin Laden Cellphone Secrets; Gas Prices Fall; Casey Anthony's Mom on Stand

Aired June 24, 2011 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Christine, did you just call Ali Velshi lumpy? I just want to be on the record with that.

ROMANS: No, no. I said two cups of coffee and two lumps of Velshi to get you started on the morning.

PHILLIPS: I know. Christine, I'm giving you a hard time. Good to see you guys.

ROMANS: I know. Bye.

PHILLIPS: It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips.

We start in Orlando. Cindy Anthony says it was she, not her daughter, who Googled the word "chloroform." Prosecutors claimed that Casey Anthony used chloroform to sedate her 2-year-old daughter before killing her.

Legendary crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger heading back to Boston to face murder charges that he fled 16 years ago. The FBI arrested him and his long time girlfriend in Santa Monica Wednesday night.

Floodwaters reaching record levels in Minot, South Dakota. By Monday, the high water mark could be six feet higher than the disastrous flood of 1881.

This morning, in Washington, all eyes are on the clock in desperate efforts to avert a crisis over the national debt. Bipartisan talks teetering on collapse after a walkout by House Republican Eric Cantor.

Dana Bash is on the Hill.

So, Dana, what exactly happens now? I mean, the clock is ticking towards the August 2nd deadline.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The clock is ticking and effectively, this gets kicked upstairs, Kyra. These talks were going on pretty much daily at this point, pretty high level but it's going to be even higher level now.

The vice president himself who was leading these talks released a statement yesterday saying, now it is going to be in the hands of leaders, meaning the president of the United States, and the top leaders, the House speaker and the Senate majority leader to try to deal with these negotiations, and there still is a lot to be worked out. You know, probably these -- the people who had been meeting will continue to do it, but this is going to be crunch time for people who have a lot of on their schedule.

PHILLIPS: So, what do you think? Taxes the major sticking point now? Or are there other major disagreements still to work through?

BASH: Well, taxes was certainly the big thing that the Republicans, the two Republicans who are part of these negotiations said that they were pulling out over -- because this is something that they say is just a nonstarter. They say anything that has to do with any tax revenue, meaning even closing loopholes on ethanol, closing loopholes on oil subsidies. They don't want these as part of these talks which they picture these talks are to reduce the deficit as a condition for Republicans to vote to raise the debt ceilings.

Democrats say you're right. That is something that we want to do. There's no reason why for cutting trillions of dollar to include taxes. So, that is a sticking point.

But there are so many others -- spending cut, where to cut the spending, whether it's from against, how much from defense, so many things that they are continuing to work on.

I can tell you, though, that according to sources who are familiar with these talks so far that they had roughly found about $2.5 trillion dollars which is no small feat to cut and to put towards the deficit. But it is more than Republicans want. How they can get there and how quickly they can get there, that is the big question, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Dana Bash, thanks so much.

Well, President Obama speaks out for gay couples. But it's also drawing attention for what he did not say. In a speech before a gay advocacy group, he called for equal rights for same-sex couples, but stopped short of using the word marriage. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I believe that discrimination because of somebody's sexual orientation or gender identity ran counter to who we are as a people, and it's a violation of the basic tenets on which this nation was founded. I believe that gay couples deserve the same legal rights as every other couple in this country.

(APPLAUSE)

PHILLIPS: Well, during his presidential campaign, Barack Obama supported civil unions but said he would not promote same-sex marriage. He now faces growing frustration within the gay community he is not doing enough to back gay rights.

So, how is the gay community viewing the president today? About a half hour from now, we're going to check in with CNN.com contributor LZ Granderson.

The federal government -- actually coming up, members of the Latino community, a gripe with President Obama. They say he's broken a campaign promise that he made to them, being a no-show at a major conference -- not once, not twice, but three times.

And just in time for summer travel season, lower gas prices that could go even lower. A live report coming up in 15 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country.

In Arizona, hackers releasing hundreds of personal files about police officers, including e-mails, names, phone numbers and addresses. They are doing this in retaliation for the state's tough immigration law. State Highway Patrol Association says this puts officers at risk.

FBI agents in Seattle arrested two Americans who plan to attack a military recruiting station. The FBI calls them would-be terrorists. Police grabbed them in a sting operation when they showed up at a warehouse to buy machine guns to use in that attack.

And take a look at this motorcycle chase in Fort Worth, Texas. A man wanted for a parole violation zoomed off from a traffic stop. Well, police chased him in two cities. Along the way, he taunted police, but finally gave up and was arrested.

Well, we are learning a lot more about the tentacles of support that may have kept Osama bin Laden hidden in plain sight for so many years.

More than seven weeks after the U.S. raid, U.S. intelligence officials are prying secrets from the cell phone of his trusted courier. Now, according to "The New York Times," he had spoken with a militant group long tied to Pakistan's spy agency. It's no smoking gun, the secret government support. But it does raise some serious questions.

Nic Robertson joins us live from London.

So, Nic, what are we hearing from this group exactly?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESONDENT: Well, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, which is the group that this courier had been using a cell phone to communicate with, had been around 20 or more years. And they were creation in part by Pakistan's intelligence service, radical Islamist mujahedeen who Pakistan used to help fight the Soviets in the Afghanistan in 1980s. And they also used to use them as a proxy force in Indian-controlled Kashmir, that contested bit of territory between Pakistan and India.

Now, this organization has sort of symbiotic ties and a common global outlook has al Qaeda and the Taliban and that's perhaps best seen in 1999, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, one of the few people in that group, hijacked an Indian airlines plane, landed it in Afghanistan, did a deal with the Taliban and al Qaeda that let them off scot-free, let the Indian airline passengers go free as well.

But it shows you the fact that this group that was based in Pakistan, supported and trained by their intelligence and military services had close ties to the Taliban and al Qaeda. And that sort of, if you will, at the root of why people are asking questions now. If Osama bin Laden's courier had their numbers in his cell phone, then, clearly, those ties still existed and does that mean, therefore, that Pakistan's intelligence services knew about where bin Laden was.

The evidence doesn't point to that yet, but it certainly opens up that avenue for people to look at, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And you tend to wonder if, indeed, that's true, what kind of impact that's going to make on the relations between the U.S. and Pakistan. And also, you know, bottom line, Nic, getting this information, learning about what type of phone numbers were there, the possible connections. Could this stop future attacks?

ROBERTSON: It certainly will put a number of people on notice, particularly in Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and anyone that has been dealing with them, that they are potentially going to be looked at as suspects in this sort of broader investigation into who knew what about where bin Laden was hiding.

But one thing is absolutely for sure here. Pakistan's intelligence services, according to an Arab diplomat that I was talking to over the weekend, said that the -- that a Pakistani official had called their officials to say what do you know about what the United States is doing in terms of gathering intelligence inside Pakistan. And this phone call, two phone calls like this were made in the week and the few days before the attack and on Osama bin Laden's compound.

So, what's very clear is people in Pakistan, high up in their official retired military structure were watching out very closely for what U.S. intelligence operatives were doing on the ground in around Abbottabad where Osama bin Laden was killed. It doesn't show that they knew that the operation was about bin Laden or where he was, but it shows you the kind of support network that was looking out for their own interests.

So, this organization, its interests, still exists and these are interests beyond the state interests of Pakistan, possibly bin Laden -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Nic Robertson -- Nic, thanks so much.

Back here at home, the federal government opening the oil pipeline. The Energy Department is releasing 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

CNN's Poppy Harlow is joining us out of New York.

So, gas prices dropping. How long will this make or how long could this last? Could they get even cheaper due to this move?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: They are absolutely going to, no question about it. You know, before the government did this surprise move, we have been seeing oil and gas prices fall pretty rapidly the past month.

Take a look what oil has done over the past month, even before this move and then a big drop yesterday, what you'll see -- we pull up a chart for you here -- is that oil prices have been down almost 11 percent over the past month. They fell 4 1/2 percent yesterday. Just started trading today, were up just slightly.

But look at your national average for gasoline. You're going to see this at the gas station today -- $3.60 a gallon is what we're talking about across the country now.

Some experts, Kyra, after this news came out, said they think that by the end of the summer, gas prices in the U.S. could fall 50 cents on average. So, that would be a big decline.

And this is exactly what the government is doing here. They are saying, all right, we are tapping this emergency supply of oil which, by the way, has only been done twice in U.S. history - once during Desert Storm and once after Hurricane Katrina. They are saying we are doing this because of supply disruptions because of the unrest in Libya and to give the U.S. economy the shot in the arm that it needs.

If people spend less at the gas station, the theory is they'll spend more elsewhere, prop up the broader economy. That is still to be seen.

It's good news for consumers, for anyone that has to fill their tank, they are going to pay less for a while now. But I will tell you, oil is up a little bit today.

And there's a lot of political controversy over this, over whether this was the right move or not. A lot of Republicans are lashing out. The Chamber of Commerce is saying this was an ill- advised move.

Again, we generally only do this in times of severe emergency in the U.S., Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Poppy Harlow, tracking those numbers and prices for us, Poppy, thanks so much.

And we're quickly going to take live to Orlando, Florida. It looks like Casey Anthony's mother has taken the stand. Again, you're looking at live pictures. We'll take you there right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Take you straight to Orlando, Florida. Live pictures now, of Casey Anthony and her mother Cindy both in tears. Let's listen in.

CINDY ANTHONY, DEFENDANT'S MOTHER: Still have the skirt. I haven't worn it. I don't recall wearing it after that. It was kind of like not popular after that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I'd like to now show you photographs that have been marked.

I'd like to show you exhibit A. May I proceed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you recall -- I have shown you this frap photograph and you have testified about it previously.

ANTHONY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And is it a fair and accurate representation of you and Casey at your brother's wedding?

ANTHONY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Judge, at this particular time, we move defendant's exhibit A into evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What says the state?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The object is irrelevant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relevancy for this testimony?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you'd like, I could proffer a sidebar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's relevant.

PHILLIPS: And you're watching live pictures of the Casey Anthony trial out of Orlando, Florida. Right now, her mother, Cindy, is on the stand. We're going to continue to follow this. We will dip in live once they continue giving testimony, again, as lawyers huddle.

So, President Obama wants to be reelected to a second term in 2012, he'll need the support of Hispanic and Latino voters.

CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, is here to break it down for us -- Paul.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, Kyra. Let's take a look at some of the numbers because it looks like with every election, Latino and Hispanic voters are becoming more influential.

So, take a look at this, these are CNN exit polls from the last couple of elections. And you can see right there, the Democrats made some big jumps. Well, actually, there you go. That's the president's approval rating among Hispanics and Latinos.

And you can see, that has dropped, look at that. Seventy-six percent back in 2009, look how that's dropped down to 63 percent for the last couple of months, but still, Kyra, much higher than the national average for his approval rating, which is in the upper 40s to right around 50.

Take a look at other graphic if we have it. And that shows how the Democrats' percentage of Latino voters went up in 2006 and '08, and then it went down again, and you can see that down to 60 percent in the midterm elections last year

So, the big question mark is, what happens in 2012, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right. So, how crucial will the Hispanic vote be?

STEINHAUSER: Very crucial in some crucial states. Let's talk about those battleground states. We always talk about them, right?

Well, take a look at this. We put a list together of some of he battleground states where the Hispanic and Latino vote could be really, really important.

Florida, no doubt -- listen, we know hands down how important Florida is. The Latino and Hispanic vote could be crucial in a state like Florida, where the vote could be very close in 2012. Also, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada -- states with extremely large and growing Latino and Hispanic populations.

And, you know what, all of these states not only important for the battle for the White House, but all these states also have crucial Senate races, the battle for control of the Senate could be -- could be determined by the Latino and Hispanic vote, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much.

So, if the Hispanic vote is so important to the president's re- election, then why hasn't he fulfilled a campaign promise that he made in 2008?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're elected president, join us next year?

OBAMA: As president, I'm looking forward to being back and addressing you as president of the United States of America.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: OK. Well, you heard it right there. Obama pledged that he would come speak to the largest gathering of Latino elected officials in the country once he became president and that group is holding its annual conference right now in San Antonio. But for three years now, he's been a no-show.

Democratic Representative Luis Gutierrez is one of those leaders who says, on top of that, Obama rather hasn't done enough to promote immigration reform either.

So, tell me why you're so unhappy with the president.

REP. LUIS GUTIERREZ (D), ILLINOIS: Well, 500,000 Latinos in the United States, citizens of this country, turn 18 every year. As you suggested, the battleground states -- Nevada, New Mexico, Florida -- so important to the re-election of the president.

I have 100 percent voting record here in the Congress. Whether it's Wall Street reform or energy policy or the health care, I supported this president and I want to see him re-elected.

But latest poll that was published a couple of weeks ago in "The Wall Street Journal," 51 percent of Latinos now say that immigration is the top most important issue for them. I want to bridge that gap so this president can be successful.

Yes, he is declining. But we he can reverse that decline if we bring together some really crucial public policies which he can initiate and those are the conversations and the dialogues we're having now.

PHILLIPS: So, how essential is it then that he come to a conference like the one you're talking about, taking place in San Antonio? I mean, the White House says, look, the scope of the president's efforts on behalf of Latinos is not defined by participating in any one particular event, but his work on the economy and the jobs, you know, he is doing that.

So, what did the White House tell you when you got the three- time rejection?

GUTIERREZ: Well, here -- here is -- let me say we should put the National Association of Latinos, NALEO Conference, in context. I went with the president when he was Senator Barack Obama seeking the Democratic nomination. That's when he promised he'd come back.

Not only did he promise he'd come back, he said, "I'm going to come back to your conference next year. That is when I'm the nominee. But when I'm president of the United States, I'm going to come back and sign comprehensive immigration reform at your annual conference."

So understand that symbolism is very important, especially when this is, as I've suggested to you, now has risen to the top issue in the latest poll and one of the very most important one. Look, there is a decline in terms of the president's approval rating and popularity among Latinos. And so, when I'm critical of the president, I'm critical of the president so that we can bridge that gap and hopefully reach a point in which I can go around the country campaigning and be on your station telling everyone to get out to vote.

PHILLIPS: Luis Gutierrez, thanks for joining us. We'll follow it, that's for sure.

GUTIERREZ: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: All right. We want to you live, one again, to Orlando, Florida. We are following the Casey Anthony murder trial. Her mother, as you can see right there, Cindy Anthony, has taken the stand once again. Let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it a fair and accurate representation of such?

ANTHONY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Judge, at this time, I would move into evidence defense exhibit DT.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What says the state?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No objections.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will be received in evidence as defendant's exhibit numbered.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-nine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May I approach the jury?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May I approach the witness with D.U.?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know what that photograph is of, Mrs. Anthony?

ANTHONY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you like to take a break? Do you need a break?

ANTHONY: No. I'm OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury what that is?

ANTHONY: It's a picture of Caylee walking up the ladder and I'm behind her holding her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your honor, I have to object. Not in evidence. Approach for relevance?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, approach.

(AUDIO BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Looks like we lost audio transmission out of the courtroom there. But you're watching right now, live pictures of the Casey Anthony murder trial. Her mom taking the stand, both of them in tears as they are talking about the death of 2-year-old Caylee.

We will try to get that audio reconnected. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Casey Anthony's mother is giving emotional testimony this morning. This is a live look inside the murder trial.

And CNN's David Mattingly is also there.

David, why don't you go ahead and bring us up-to-speed? We have watching Casey and her mother -- her mother giving some pretty emotional testimony right now.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Cindy Anthony is really getting put through the emotional wringer on the stand today. She's identifying for the defense certain pieces of evidence. First, she was shown a video of Caylee playing with her daughter Casey. That brought her to tears. She was asked to talk about the clothing that Caylee was wearing, what size Caylee was. That's going to be important later with a point the defense plans to make.

Also, they showed her photographs of the family pool with the ladder attached. We know that the defense claims that Caylee drowned in the family's above ground pool. Cindy Anthony was then brought to tears again as she was showed a photograph of her holding Caylee on the ladder of the pool. Again, bolstering the defense's claim that Caylee accidentally climbed up that ladder and then drown under no supervision in the family's pool.

But, again, a very emotional day. Quite a turn from what we saw yesterday when Cindy Anthony had very contentious back-and-forth with the prosecution after she testified that she went on the family computer and she searched for information about chloroform, not her daughter Casey.

So, again, this is probably, I think, about the fifth time that Cindy has been on the stand, both for the prosecution and for the defense. And, again, she is just having a very difficult time looking back and seeing those pictures of her granddaughter before she died. Everyone in the courtroom just paying very close attention to this, unlike the days past that we have had, where they have sat through just mind-numbing testimony about forensic evidence. This is very real, very human and everyone paying very close attention.

PHILLIPS: David, just to sort of reset where we are right now. As you know, we made some news yesterday with this talk about Cindy Anthony believing that her -- her daughter was not innocent. And this was coming from possibly one of the attorneys, and there was some back-and-forth on whether she was going to say that or not. Or believed that or not.

Can you kind of reset the stage of what happened yesterday and how it folded into today and why so many people have been paying attention to what Casey Anthony's mom is saying?

MATTINGLY: Well, the attorney for the Anthonys, Cindy and George Anthony, the parents of Casey Anthony, that attorney told CNN that the family supports her, they love her, they do not want her to get the death penalty. And, at one point, he said that they do not believe she is innocent.

He clarified those comments yesterday saying they have reached no conclusion whatsoever about what happened. They want the truth. They want to know what happened. And they want the prosecution and the defense to do their job.

But this has happened all outside the courtroom. The jury is not aware of any of this at all. They are only aware of what has been presented right there in front of them. They are sequestered. They've been there for quite some time away from the public eye. And they are watching today Cindy Anthony get very emotional. Casey Anthony herself shedding some tears as some of this evidence is placed into the court's view.

But they are watching this very human moment of this very human tragedy playing out in front of them.

PHILLIPS: All right. David Mattingly live from Orlando, Florida. We will continue to check in with you.

Meanwhile, flooding in Minot, North Dakota is coming faster and with greater force than first predicted. A lake near the city is already overflowing and CNN's Jim Spellman is live in Minot where people now are expecting rather record flood levels. Is that right, Jim?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra. Take a look. I mean, the water is already coming up here. You can see from these traffic signals. This is looks like a pond or something, but this is one of the intersections right here in town. The water has been coming up about a foot or so every hour.

And Kyra, I'm 6'3, and this water is going to come up another eight or nine feet. It's hard to imagine what that much water is going to do here. The dike system they have put in place in the last couple of weeks, they've realized in the last few days that there's no way it is going to hold back the water and protect the whole city.

So they are really focusing on key infrastructures. This dike here they have been building yesterday and continue to work on it today to protect city hall and the police station. They have several dikes like this around town. The water treatment plant, some schools. They just basically have to get people out of the way. 12,000 people here, Kyra, have already evacuated from their homes. And really evacuated - many of them taking with them the refrigerators, stoves. Absolutely everything because when they know when they come back with all this water, there may not be much to come back to. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right. Jim Spellman, a story we are following closely. Thanks so much.

And also we are still also following closely the murder trial of Casey Anthony. Right now, her mother Cindy on the stand again. You remember yesterday, if you've been following this, how emotional that was. Now you've got both of them close to each other, both emotional and we will listen in to what Casey Anthony's mother is saying right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. President Obama got a standing ovation for his comments during a gay rights fundraiser. But listen to him closely because there is still one word you didn't hear him say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I believe that discrimination because of somebody's sexual orientation or gender identity ran counter to who we are as a people. and it's a violation of the basic tenets on which this nation was founded. I believe that gay couples deserve the same legal rights as every other couple in this country.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, the one word you didn't hear was marriage. LZ Granderson joins us once again. He talked about this last night in primetime. We wanted to bring you back, LZ, because you have written so much about this issue. You are openly gay. You said you wanted to get mad, but you couldn't. Why not?

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: Because I understand how politics works. And if you allow yourself as a voter to take your emotion out of the situation and look at it from a real pragmatic point of view, you can understand why the president was very careful in his word choice last night.

So, while as a gay person who has a partner who I would love to marry, I wanted to get upset, as a voter, I knew why he did what he did.

PHILLIPS: In your opinion, is it worth it, though? And will he really lose that many votes if he comes out and supports gay marriage?

GRANDERSON: You know, that's the 10 billion dollar question, right? And I'm not really sure if it's wise for him to try to answer that question. Quite frankly, because his record on the economy is quite abysmal right now. People are looking for jobs.

And so, I think if things were better, for more Americans, he could take this risk. But, you know, there's no guarantee he is going to be reelected based upon the record he has thus far and with the economy. So, I'm not sure if it's wise to take that risk in terms of dealing with gay marriage right now.

PHILLIPS: So let me ask you this because the president has been progressive in some ways when it comes to gay issues. Were you proud of him in any way when you listened to this? Or was it still -- you may have gotten it, but was it still not enough? Like, what is the next thing that you really would like to see from this president on this issue?

GRANDERSON: Well, you know, first and foremost, let me say that I'm very happy with President Obama as my president. Not just dealing with issues in terms of gay rights, but in terms of a lot of things he has handled. I've been disappointed with some decisions, but overall I'm very happy with him as president.

So, I don't want my disappointment in what he said last night to mask the fact he has been, by far, the most GLBT friendly president we've ever had.

So, would I have wanted him to say gay marriage last night? Absolutely. Do I give him a pass for not saying it? Yes.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. And by the way, I heard you are engaged. Congratulations, LZ. Thanks for weighing in on the issue.

GRANDERSON: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Okay.

Want to take you back live now to Orlando, Florida. Once again, as you know, we have been following this trial even more closely since yesterday, when Casey Anthony's mother took the stand. A lot of emotional testimony.

Well, that's exactly what is happening again. Both very emotional as we listen to Casey Anthony's mother, Cindy, talk about the loss of her granddaughter.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JOSE BAEZ, CASEY ANTHONY'S ATTORNEY: And what is that photograph of, ma'am?

CASEY ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY'S MOTHER: It's Caylee climbing the ladder. That's -- it's just another image from the last one.

BAEZ: And is that where she's a little further along up the ladder?

ANTHONY: Yes.

BAEZ: Is it a fair and accurate representation of what it depicts?

ANTHONY: Yes.

BAEZ: Your Honor, at this time, we would move defendant's exhibit DV into evidence.

JUDGE: What says the state?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

JUDGE: Objection will be overruled. You proceed into evidence as defense exhibit number?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Number 51.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: May I approach the jury, Your Honor?

JUDGE: You may.

BAEZ: May I approach the witness, Your Honor?

JUDGE: You may.

BAEZ: May I approach, (ph) Your Honor?

JUDGE: You may.

BAEZ: What is that photograph DW of, Mrs. Anthony?

ANTHONY: It's Caylee that same day when she made it to the top platform of the ladder.

BAEZ: And is that a fair and accurate representation of what that depicts?

ANTHONY: Yes.

BAEZ: Could you read the letters on the back for me? I want to make sure we're-- is it DW?

ANTHONY: Yes, DW.

BAEZ: Judge, I would at this time move DW into evidence.

JUDGE: What says the state?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

JUDGE: Objection overruled. Be received in evidence as defendant's exhibit number?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Number 52.

BAEZ: May I approach the jury?

JUDGE: You may. BAEZ: May I approach the witness, your honor?

JUDGE: You may.

BAEZ: Mrs. Anthony, what does the photograph depict that you are looking at?

ANTHONY: It shows me attempting to go around Caylee as I usually did. I mean, we used to have Caylee sit, once she got for the platform, with her feet on the first step in the water. And then whoever was with her would get around that way. We would get in the pool before her and then receive her.

BAEZ: And is that a fair and accurate photograph of what it depicts?

ANTHONY: Yes.

BAEZ: And the letters on the back side of it are?

ANTHONY: DX.

BAEZ: Judge, we, at this time --

(END LIVE COVERAGE)

PHILLIPS: You can only imagine what's going through Cindy Anthony's mind there as she is looking at pictures of her granddaughter when she was alive, pictures of her and her granddaughter there.

You're watching live testimony as Casey Anthony's mother -- there is that -- the picture right there actually that she's looking at. Live pictures out of the courtroom there in Orlando, Florida, as the murder trial of Casey Anthony continues. We are following this closely.

We're going to a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're going to take you once again live to Orlando, Florida. That's Cindy Anthony, the mother of Casey Anthony, on the stand now looking at photographs of when her granddaughter 2-year-old Caylee was still alive.

Sunny Hostin, our legal analyst, has been following this from the very beginning. Very emotional today just like it was yesterday when she took the stand, Sunny. Let's talk about the significance behind the questions that are being asked right now of Cindy Anthony.

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, TRU TV: Well, it's very significant to the defense's theory because the defense really maintains that Cindy was not murdered by Casey Anthony, rather, she died accidentally in the pool that we are seeing the pictures of. They maintain that Caylee walked up these very steps by herself when George Anthony and Casey Anthony were home and then drowned. They also say that George Anthony found the little girl dead in the swimming pool. And then said to Casey Anthony, your mother is going to be so upset with you.

And so the relationship between Casey Anthony and Cindy Anthony is very crucial, not only for the prosecution, but also for the defense. And that is why we are seeing so many pictures of this pool because the defense wants this jury to believe that Caylee could have walked up these stairs by herself.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Let's listen again once again to the trial and then I've got a couple of more questions for you, Sunny.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ANTHONY: Once I made it to the other side and got my feet in the water, it was usually ok for her to start going in. I had to be at least on the other side of the ladder. But, yes, she was anxious to get in.

BAEZ: And did you take numerous precautions around the pool with Caylee?

ANTHONY: Yes.

BAEZ: Can you share with the ladies and gentlemen of the jury some of those precautions that you would take?

ANTHONY: We made very -- we made sure that once Caylee started walking, we used to have a pool deck -- I mean, a pool box, a deck box right next to the pool and it was just a little bit further from where the ladder was in that picture where it showed that the ladder was down.

And once Caylee was a toddler, we moved that. And we put it up against the house. Where you can see in the background where it looks like there's tree and then two hangings on my house right back there.

It was below that where the tree is right below that area. We put the deck box so that she could not climb up on the deck box to get in to the ladder. And we took extra precaution every day to keep the ladder off the pool. Unless we were going swimming and then we'd put it on and then we'd take it off.

We also made sure that we taught Caylee that she had to be with us, one of us, to go into the pool and that she had to wait for us. I mean we took precautions on teaching her how to go up the ladder and down the ladder, backwards and forwards, just like you would stairs in a house so that we knew she could come up and down and told her that we had to be with her and why. We showed her why she could get hurt.

And we kept the life vest inside the back patio. Caylee's wearing a swim suit and at that timeframe with one of those --

BAEZ: Let me stop you there.

Did this vest fit her a year later or did you buy another one?

ANTHONY: No. That one -- that one was actually the second one we had bought for her. She grew out of the first one and then she grew out of that one and we actually bought a removable life vest that would go over her suits.

BAEZ: Now, these photographs, they were taken after the video that we showed the ladies and gentlemen of the jury first, right?

ANTHONY: Yes. A few months later.

BAEZ: Ok. And she even outgrew this vest, as well?

(END LIVE COVERAGE)

PHILLIPS: Once again, following live testimony of Casey Anthony's mother Cindy there on the stand. Right now looking at pictures of when little Cindy was alive, by the swimming pool, talking about safety precautions, the fitting of the vest.

We'll talk more about what these questions mean and where exactly this discussion is going as we take a quick break. We'll be right back with our Sunny Hostin.

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PHILLIPS: The Casey Anthony murder trial continues. Live pictures right now out of the courtroom there in Orlando, Florida. You are looking at Casey Anthony's mother, Cindy.

Sunny Hostin, our legal analyst is watching this closely. Looking at pictures of her with her granddaughter when 2-year-old Caylee was alive, talking about safety precautions, the fitting of that vest that she would wear before she'd go into the pool. What's the significance Sunny behind these questions?

HOSTIN: Well, certainly, the defense is trying to take the sting out, Kyra, of the prosecution's cross-examination because I'm sure the prosecution is going to go over those very facts that there were all these methods in place to make sure that Caylee didn't go into the pool by herself.

But my understanding is that there is a defense witness that is going to testify to seeing that ladder down there when the Anthony's were home, when Caylee was home. And so, I think that is why we're seeing the defense laying the groundwork for that witness and also for the prosecution's cross-examination. They want to put this stuff out there before the prosecution gets the opportunity to do it.

PHILLIPS: All right. Sunny Thanks. We'll take a quick break. More at the top of the hour. Stay with us.

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