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Video Released of Captive British Marines; Bush Calls Emergency War Spending Bill Full of Pork; Chicago High Rise on Fire; Rapist on the Loose in Arizona

Aired March 28, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips, who's on assignment in Baghdad.

LEMON: First, breaking news this hour. Our first look at the British sailors and marines held captive in Iran and now a letter from the female captain to her parents.

The British government shows proof their troops were never in Iranian waters. And we have all the angles right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And we start with this breaking story this hour. There is lots of movement in the past few minutes in the standoff over those 15 British sailors and marines seized by Iran.

CNN's Aneesh Raman is tracking developments from the Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia, and he joins us now via broadband -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The video that has just been released came on the state-run channel Al Ahram (ph), which is an Arabic language channel. It is seen predominantly outside of the Islamic republic, not within the country. I've just spoken to someone within Iran, and this video is yet to be broadcast there. So it would seem this is a message from Iran to the international community.

In this video, the woman sailor is seen. A letter from her is shown, as well as some of the other British military personnel who are being held. It seems that they are in relatively good condition. They are seen eating.

As I mentioned, that letter is shown, where the woman sailor says that she apparently crossed into Iranian waters, apologizes for that. Apologizes to the Iranian people and says that she hopes she will be home soon.

Now this is a starkly different image than what we saw the last time an incident like this came up in June 2004. At that point, the British military personnel, who were held for some three days, were shown on Iranian state-run television within the country blindfolded. At the time, Iran said they had confessed. They were seen in this video. After they were released in 2004 the British military personnel disputed that.

Iran has been facing international pressures, specifically, of course, from the British government, to give people access to these British military personnel.

We are now in day six of this standoff. The British government has repeatedly said not only it wants immediate release, but it wants to see its personnel with their own eyes, the British ambassador on the ground.

This seems to be a preemptive step by Iran to show the world community that they are in relatively good condition. But it will do little, it would seem, to appease the British government. Of course, this is done on the Iranian terms in terms of the video that is shot.

But it does, of course, underscore Iran's claim that these military personnel were in Iranian waters. People will, perhaps, with suspect, discount the letter that she has written confesses. The British government today, earlier today, came out with evidence it says shows that the British military personnel were, in fact, in Iraqi waters.

Now I spoke to the Iranian foreign minister just a short time ago on the sidelines of the Arab summit being held here in Riyadh. He told me that the woman sailor that you see in this video prominently will be released in his words, quote, "very soon."

Earlier in the day he had told members of the Turkish press, after meeting with the Turkish prime minister, she could be released as early as today or perhaps tomorrow. This is what the speculation as to what this means for the remaining core team.

The sense I get within Iran is that this is being done, the release of this woman sailor, as a result of cultural sensitivities within the Islamic Republic, the fact that there was a woman being held among the other 14. She has confessed, according to what Iran has put on television, to crossing into Iranian waters. So if she is being released, one would assume, if it is just a legal decision of some sort by Iran, the others will be released, as well.

So again, the fact that she is, according to the Iranian foreign minister, going to be released soon, suggests it's a cultural issue and does suggest that perhaps the remaining 14 military British personnel could be in Iranian custody for some time to come, Don.

LEMON: All right. Aneesh Raman in Riyadh. Thank you so much for that report, Aneesh.

And just getting word from the A.P., coming across the wire here, the British government is responding to this videotape. The government is saying the soldiers detained there is completely unacceptable. It is completely unacceptable for these pictures to be shown on television. This is all just coming in. The foreign office said, in a statement released just a short time ago, "There is no doubt our personnel were seized in Iraqi territorial waters." The statement also demanded that the British diplomats be given immediate access to them as a prelude to their release.

This all coming across the Associated Press wires just moments ago in response to that videotape.

Our Paula Newton is in London. She will join us in just a few moments -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Don, you saw the letter. Now let's find out a little bit more about what's in that letter written by the British sailor, Faye Turney. There it is right there.

Again, the Iranian government released it just minutes ago. It reads in part, quote, "Dear Mum & Dad, I am writing to you from Iran where I am being held. I will try to explain to you the best what has happened. We were out in the boats when we were arrested by Iranian forces as we had apparently gone into Iranian waters. I wish we hadn't because then I'd be home with you all right now. I am so sorry we did, because I know we wouldn't be here now if we hadn't."

Those are the words written by Faye Turney, one of the service members who was with the Great Britain ship there.

We know a bit about the British sailor, Faye Turney, the only woman in that group of British navy personnel held by Iran. She is 26 years old. She's from Plymouth in southwest England, and she's married with a 3-year-old daughter.

A few days before she was seized, Turney spoke to the BBC aboard the HMS Cornwall. She talked about the dangers of serving in the military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAYE TURNEY, DETAINED BRITISH SAILOR: My parents made sure that I was under no illusion that I could go to war at any time. That's the choice I made. It's always been -- sometimes it's a bit like a cruise, sometimes, to be in the navy. But you've got to have it in the back of your head that sometimes you may be called upon and that you just do it and get on with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That's the British sailor, Faye Turney. Iran says she could be released in a day or two.

So where exactly were Britain's eight sailors and seven marines when they were confronted by Iran's Revolutionary Guard? Well, the British Defense Ministry says they were clearly in Iraqi waters, and it says it has the satellite data to prove it.

CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, joins us with more on that and what potential U.S. involvement there may be in all of this?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello to you, Fredricka.

As for U.S. involvement, what is happening right now is the Bush administration and the U.S. military especially are playing all of this very low key at the request of the British government, trying to stay well beyond any public view on this matter.

But make no mistake, the U.S. military is watching all of this minute-by-minute, very concerned about the British military personnel, wondering what the Iranians are up to and very closely watching how the Iranians treat these personnel currently that the -- that are being held.

Now, earlier today, the British Ministry of Defense in London released this photograph that you see. Let's keep it up for a while and explain to our viewers what they're looking at and why this photograph is so crucial to this current situation.

This is a British helicopter flying overhead over the cargo ship that was being inspected when this incident erupted. There is a GPS handheld system, as you can see, in the hands of someone onboard the helicopter.

Let's be clear: this picture was actually taken after the incident, but the cargo ship never moved its position. So this is where actually the British military personnel were seized.

What this GPS handheld system shows is the satellite coordinates of this precise location and, according to the British Ministry of Defense, and the U.S. agreed, this shows that the cargo ship was 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters.

What the ministry of defense also said earlier today was that they got conflicting information back from the Iranian government, that initially the Iranians agreed that the incident took place in Iraqi waters, and then came back later and said, no, that they thought it had happened in Iranian waters.

So, the British government very much holding to the firm line that all of this took place in Iraqi waters -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So Barbara, one more time, just to clarify the photograph that we're looking at right now, the British sailors and marines were actually in some rubber rafts that come from the HMS Cornwall. And as they were in the rubber rafts, they approached this cargo ship here.

And this GPS image is helping to demonstrate that that cargo ship has not moved at the time that they took that photograph versus the time that those rafts actually approached that cargo ship, thereby exemplifying that it was in Iranian waters? Do I have that right?

STARR: Exemplifying that it was actually -- that it was in Iraqi waters. GPS shows precise satellite coordinates, very precise locations. By putting this GPS system up in a helicopter right over the location of the cargo ship where the seizure of the British personnel happened, what the British government is saying, they are showing the world, this precise location is 1.7 nautical miles inside Iraqi waters. And that's where the British were operating.

WHITFIELD: All right. Barbara Starr, thanks so much from the Pentagon -- Don.

STARR: Sure.

LEMON: And just moments ago, we told you about the British government responding, saying that these pictures were totally unacceptable to be shown on television. Let's get reaction now from London and our Paula Newton, who's there live there for us -- Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, you know, now from this point on, Britain is going to have to say that the rules of the game have changed. They expected things to escalate this way, but of course, when you consider the British public now looking at a very young woman, a young mother who has a little daughter who's 3, who is now, they say, forced to say in a letter that "We were arrested by Iranian forces, as we had apparently gone into Iranian waters." Later in the interview you hear her say that she was in Iranian waters.

That certainly goes against the Geneva Convention rules in terms of them being paraded on TV.

But more than that, Don, when you think about everyone back here in Britain, you're talking about a mother of 3 (sic) who writes in a letter also that "I am home to get ready for Molly's birthday party." She has a little daughter -- "with a present from the Iranian people." That certainly is out of bounds, as far as the British are concerned. They called it unacceptable, and now they will begin to act on what they feel.

You know, there was a lot of criticism here in Britain, people asking why were -- did they not fight back? Why were they allowed to be taken at all? The British military very defensive on that, saying, look, they were ambushed, and they had no choice.

At this point in time, we've been seeing this story simmer along. It is now at the boiling point, and it will take a lot of diplomatic heavy lifting to resolve this at all.

It was interesting, because the family was very hopeful today, because there were rumors that, in fact, Ms. Turney would be the one who would be released. She has not been released yet, and we have no information that that's imminent. That is, of course, what sources here in London continue to say from the Iranian side of things. And the family in Plymouth, England, on that coast continues to wait for her to come home.

LEMON: All right. CNN's Paula Newton in London. Thank you so much for that. We will check back with you. A White House briefing happening now. Just moments ago, Dana Perino spoke about President Bush's conversation earlier with Tony Blair. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN PERINO, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I can -- I do have one update. The president did speak to Tony Blair today by CIVITS (ph). This was a secure video teleconference that was scheduled last -- that was scheduled before this incident had occurred. And they did speak today on a variety of topics, including this one.

The president fully backs Tony Blair and our allies in Britain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: More on this developing story throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Personal crisis, public action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERYL CROWE, MUSICIAN/ACTIVIST: I think most people think that it couldn't happen to them. I mean, I was one of those people that really felt like, look, I'm healthy, I'm on the go. I treat myself pretty -- pretty healthy. And, yet, here I have breast cancer. And so I know there's a lot of fear out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Sheryl Crow goes to Capitol Hill to push for breast cancer research. That story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And what does the president have against Mormon crickets, Christmas trees, Denver, and St. Paul? Well, we've got a story you don't want to miss, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And Rob Marciano has an eye on severe spring weather straight -- headed straight toward millions of you.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: For the first time, we're seeing new images of the British sailors and marines being held in Iran. The leading female, a British soldier. Among them, Faye Turney. Apparently, she has also written a letter to her family members saying that apparently they were in Iranian water.

We're getting new tape and new sound. When we're able to get that to you, we'll bring that to you -- oh, we've got it right now.

LEMON: Yes. WHITFIELD: Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TURNEY: My name is Leading Seaman Faye Turney. I come from England. I serve on Foxtrot 99, and I've been in the navy nine years. I live in England at present.

I was arrested on Friday, the 23rd of March. Obviously, we trespassed into their waters.

They were very friendly, very hospitable. Very thoughtful. Nice people. They explained to us why we've been arrested. There was no aggression. No hurt, no harm. They were very, very compassionate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: These spoken words very similar to the written words that we've been able to see of the letter that Faye Turney, the British female sailor who apparently wrote to her family as she has been held by the Iranians there.

More information as we get it here in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Yes. President Bush responding just a short time ago that he fully backs Tony Blair on this issue. So details about this breaking story throughout the day right here on the CNN NEWSROOM.

A lot happening in Washington, including this. They are locked in a stare-down, Democrats in Congress and the president. Senators are chugging forward on a bill that would set a date for U.S. troops to pull out of Iraq.

A roll call yesterday defeated a Republican bid to strip deadlines from the war funding bill. The president says the date setters are wasting their time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The House and Senate bills have too much pork, too many conditions on our commanders and an artificial timetable for withdrawal. And I have made it clear for weeks, if either version comes to my desk, I'm going to veto it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A couple of Senate Republicans did break ranks yesterday, voting for a troop drawdown with a non-binding deadline of March 31, 2008.

John McCain wasn't one of them. He wants the deadline removed. He told our Wolf Blitzer that he sees the troop surge as already paying safety dividends in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what you told Bill Bennett on his radio show on Monday: "There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods today. The U.S. is beginning to succeed in Iraq."

Everything we hear, that if you leave the so-called Green Zone, the international zone, and you go outside of that secure area, relatively speaking, you're in trouble if you're an American.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, that's where you ought to catch up on things, Wolf. General Petraeus goes out there every day in an unarmed Humvee. I think you ought to catch up. You see, you are giving the old line of three months ago. I understand it. You certainly don't get it through the filter of some of the media.

But I know for a fact that much of the success we're experiencing, including the ability of Americans in many parts. Not all. We've got a long, long way to go. We've only got two of the five brigades there to go into some neighborhoods in Baghdad in a secure fashion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And a CNN correspondent in Baghdad has issues with McCain's assessment, to put it very mildly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No way on earth can a westerner, particularly an American, stroll any street of this capital of more than five million people.

I mean, if al Qaeda doesn't get wind of you or if one of the Sunni insurgent groups don't descend upon you or if someone doesn't tip off a Shia militia, then the nearest criminal gang is just going to see dollar signs and scoop you up.

Honestly, Wolf, you'd barely last 20 minutes out there. I don't know what part of Neverland Senator McCain is talking about when he says we can go strolling in Baghdad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: CNN Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware and Republican senator and presidential hopeful, John McCain, both speaking with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

And we have a developing story that's just in to the CNN NEWSROOM. You're looking at live pictures. This is from WLS in Chicago, our affiliate there.

This is a high-rise fire, a 45-story building, at least the fire is located on the 45th floor. And you can see this is downtown Chicago. That building -- right there, if you look to the left, that is the Chicago River. It is just west of the Chicago River. Small children were being escorted out of the building. They were told to evacuate because the fire was on the 45th floor. That's according to reports that we have here. No injuries so far reported in all of this.

Fire crews said that they will not evacuate the building, at least parts of it, because the blaze is burning outside the roof. But then one report said children were asked to leave from that -- to leave that building.

The building is located, again, just west of the Chicago River, not far from Lake Michigan there. As soon as we get more information on this fire, raging on the 45th floor of a downtown office building, or a high-rise building in Chicago, we'll bring it to right you here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, back in Washington, the Senate bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, much like the House version, contains more than that. It would allocate millions to fight an insect infestation in the western states, millions more to help Christmas tree growers and for security at political conventions.

But President Bush says an emergency military bill is no place for pork.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: The bill includes $40 million for tree assistance. You know, all these matters may be important matters. They don't need to be loaded onto a bill that is an emergency spending bill for our troops.

There's $3.5 million for visitors to tour the Capitol and see for themselves how Congress works. I'm not kidding you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Brianna Keilar is in Washington. Brianna with more on that. This is not just about funding for the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war, but a whole lot more.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: now that's exactly right, Fred. About 20 or so billion of this $122 billion emergency spending bill goes to things that are not military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So let's take a look at some of the things what's in here. About $4 billion in agricultural assistance for farmers and ranchers. That includes about $20 billion to combat insect infestations in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. That's where those Mormon crickets are that devastate the crops.

Also, as the president did say, about $40 million to tree farmers for tree assistance. And we do understand this does include or may include Christmas tree farmers. Also, as he said, about $100 million that go to those cities that are hosting the Democratic and Republican national conventions, Denver and St. Paul. And that is for security.

All of these things, just a few of the myriad of things that President Bush and some Republicans are lambasting as pork -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so what is the reaction on Capitol Hill?

KEILAR: You bet there sure is one. Senator Robert Byrd, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a Democrat, is not taking this criticism lying down. Here's what he said.

He said, "The White House has claimed that efforts to add funding for our veterans for Katrina victims and for homeland security will hold hostage the funds for troops. What nonsense. In fact, funding for the war is not the only critical need worthy of supplemental funding this year. The war must not obliterate every other concern."

And then Senator Tom Coburn, a Republican who's really leading the charge against this extra spending, targeted that money that's going to the convention cities. He said, "Members will have to make a difficult choice between booze and balloons or body armor and bullets."

And he also said, "Why should we borrow from our grandchildren to have a party?"

But you know, Fred, what they say about pork. One man's pork is another man's special project or important project. And you know, a lot of this stuff is backed, some of these things that are considered pork, are being lambasted as pork, are backed by both Republicans and Democrats.

WHITFIELD: All right. What is else new, right? Capitol Hill.

KEILAR: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.

LEMON: We want to get to back to the scene of a developing story happening in downtown Chicago.

Our CNN affiliate is reporting that this is -- no injuries reported in this fire. The fire is just west of the Chicago River there, not very far from the "Chicago Sun-Times" newspaper building.

It's an extra alarm -- that's fire lingo there in the Chicago area. We're being told it's -- this is a 45-floor building. It's on the roof. And the fire is happening in a cooling tower on that roof.

Now, we're being told the building is evacuated. They evacuated the building just as a precaution. But there it is, 500 West Monroe, if you know the Chicago area, just west of the Chicago River.

You see firefighters there on the roof. And they're pouring -- at least trying to get to that cooling tower to try to knock those flames out. It appears to be smoking now. Don't see any flames there, at least visibly. So it looks like they may have gotten a handle on it.

But we'll definitely stay on top of this story. A high-rise fire in Chicago. No injuries, that's the good news in all this, happening right now. We'll keep you updated.

WHITFIELD: Also something we're watching, home alone. Teenage girls targeted by a predator. Now police in Arizona are targeting him before he strikes again. The story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips.

Iranian television shows the first pictures of British sailors held in an ongoing dispute over territorial waters here in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: It is the bottom of the hour. And a quick update now on those British sailors held in Iran. A lot has happened in just the past hour. Let's join CNN's Aneesh Raman. He's tracking developments from the Arab League Summit in Saudi Arabia, and he joins us now via broadband -- Aneesh.

RAMAN: Yes, Don, a couple of updates to bring you. First, we understand that Faye Turney, who is the woman sailor among the 15 British military personnel in custody, has written four letters, one of which has been shown in the video that we've been airing for the past hour or so.

That is a letter that she wrote to her family. We understand from Iranian state-run news services, she's written three other letters, one to the Iranian people, one to the British people, and one to the British parliament.

We also understand that the letter to the family, we think, was handed over to the British ambassador to Iran earlier today in a meeting with foreign ministry officials within Tehran. The Iranian foreign minister wasn't there, because he's here in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I spoke to him a short time ago the the sidelines of this Arab summit. He confirmed to me that the woman sailor would be released, in his words, quote, "very soon." He had said earlier in the day he said the release could come as early as today, if not tomorrow. We don't know what the text is of the other letters. The full text to her family has been released.

In it, Faye Turney confesses to going mistakenly to Iranian waters. She says that she has been treated well, that the Iranians holding her have been, quote, "hospitable, thoughtful, nice people." The British government, of course, will view this confession and those words with suspicion given the fact that she is in Iranian custody. They have already the release of this video is, quote, "unacceptable."

Don?

All right, details from Aneesh Raman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Thank you, Aneesh.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

WHITFIELD: Well, a different kind of test, a better diagnosis, but only for some women. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, new advice about breast cancer screening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, our developing story here in the CNN NEWSROOM this afternoon, Iranian television showing new pictures of the 15 sailors who were taken into custody earlier in the week, who they claim were in Iranian waters. Also they're releasing a letter by the lone female British sailor, detained with 14 other male sailors. Her name is Faye Turney. And she spoke just -- this video of her speaking was released a short time ago.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAYE TURNEY, DETAINED BRITISH SAILOR: My name is Leading Seaman Faye Turney. I come from England. I serve on Foxtrot 99, and I've been in the Navy for nine years. I live in England at present. I was arrested on Friday, the 23rd of March. Obviously we trespassed into their waters. They were very friendly, very hospitable, very thoughtful, nice people. They explained to us why we'd been arrested. There was no aggression, no hurt, no harm. They were very, very compassionate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And that was Faye Turney in the letter that they released, same sort of words, echoing the same sentiments there. The British government of course reacting not long ago, saying it is completely unacceptable for these pictures to be shown on television. All of the details on this story throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, so people drive slow and be careful and have those radios tuned to know about those kinds of flash floods, etc. Rob Marciano, thanks so much.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Well, in as Arizona, a very different kind of concern. Police there want to stop a rapist who preys on teenage girls with single parents -- girls who are often home alone. He has struck three times, but as we hear from reporter Cara Liu of CNN affiliate KPHO in Phoenix, he may have a harder time now catching victims offguard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARA LIU, KPHO REPORTER (voice-over): Derek Litten and Khirstin Lewis felt so strongly they went door-to-door themselves making sure their neighbors were aware a sexual predator was targeting their neighborhood.

DEREK LITTEN, CONCERNED NEIGHBOR: And this guy is going around and staking out the neighborhoods and watching these kids -- it's just very eerie and it's very, very sick.

KHIRSTIN LEWIS, CONCERNED NEIGHBOR: When it gets so close to where you live and where your loved ones are, you want them to you know, understand that, this is serious.

LIU: Police did much the same, passing out more than 1200 flyers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was very impressed.

LIU: Investigators released new information in an attack in January. Police tell us the suspect wore a brown work coat and faded blue jeans. He also had tan work boots with fresh blue and white paint drops on them. His cell phone had a bells & rings tone and they believe he may have access to a newer white Ford F-150 with tinted windows and Arizona plates.

Detectives believe this man has been watching his victims before the attacks.

DET. PAUL KEE, CHANDLER POLICE DEPT.: He has a comfort level into entering these houses so which could lead us to believe that he's maybe done some surveillance himself.

LIU: Police say three teenage girls have been attacked since January.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And now joining us, Sergeant Rick Griner with the Chandler Police Department. Sergeant, thanks so much for being with us.

So, we see that there's a description of this suspect. I also understand that this suspect was believed to have worn a black ski mask on one occasion or two. That being the case, how were these victims able to describe him?

SGT. RICK GRINER, CHANDLER, ARIZ. POLICE DEPT.: Well, in the first incident, he wore no mask, nothing like that. The second incident, we believe that the victim may have caught him offguard just prior to the attack and he actually did not have a chance to get the mask down right at the time. The third incident we believe that the suspect actually had contact with the victim about a month prior when he was trying to use a ruse that the neighbor's house was on fire and that she needed to get out of the house.

WHITFIELD: So, so many things that are confusing about this, A, how this predator is able to identify which young people are attached to which single-parent homes making them that much more vulnerable according to what we're learning about the way this crime is being carried out?

GRINER: Well, that means that he's doing a lot of surveillance. He's watching the victims. He's watching the victims' families. He knows when the parent leaves and when the victim is there alone.

WHITFIELD: Do you believe he's learning this information in any other way other than surely by making observation? Might he be learning this information in any other way as far as you know?

GRINER: As far as we know, no. We believe that he's just watching his victims prior to the actual attacks.

WHITFIELD: And these attacks taking place in what kind of radius from one another? Does it seem like they're all happening in the same neighborhood?

GRINER: The second and third one were literally blocks away. The first one is about a mile away from these two.

WHITFIELD: How are you getting the schools to help cooperate in trying to find this predator, how to warn these young people to better protect themselves?

GRINER: Right, we have contact with the Chandler Unified School District. We are sending the same flyers that we handed out last night to the schools. So hopefully the two junior high theater (ph) schools from that neighborhood will be distributing those today.

Also, the school resource officer, one of the schools, went around to every classroom yesterday to give them a brief update and an overview on how to stay safe.

WHITFIELD: And how do you comfort some of these parents? I mean, obviously, many of these parents are having to work, especially those who are single-parent homes that we're talking about of the kids being targeted. They must be worried sick about how their kids could be protected and at the same time allow their kids to continue to be independent?

GRINER: That's right. All these victims come from single parent residences. We are reiterating to the families in trying to get their parents involved to actually coach their children on what to do if a stranger comes to the door, what to do if someone is trying to break in.

And also we're trying to get across that we need to have them practice strength in numbers where if they have to go to school or they have to go to work and leave the children behind, to contact another family member, network with some other parents in the neighborhood, and ban together to make sure that they can get the kids to and from school safely.

WHITFIELD: Any other information you can add to the description of this predator that you're looking for.

GRINER: Just yesterday we released and we've already have touched base on it. In the second attack, he wore a pair of tan work boots that had fresh white, blue paint on them. And also the cell phone and the jacket. We're hoping a friend or family member of the suspect will recognize that and do what is right and come forward to us with that person's identity so we can get the predator off of the street.

WHITFIELD: Sergeant Rick Griner, Chandler Arizona Police Department. Thanks so much for your time and good luck on the continued --

GRINER: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely, Don.

LEMON: New problems for a Chicago police officer caught on tape beating a female bartender. Plus, we'll hear from the police top brass here in Chicago ahead in the NEWSROOM.

A different kind of test -- a better diagnosis, but only for some women. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, new advice about breast cancer screening. ,

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WHITFIELD: Almost a million and a half Americans will get the alarming diagnosis this year -- cancer. In just the past week, two high-profile Americans who thought they were cancer-free announced they are not.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential candidate John Edwards says her breast cancer is back, and White House spokesman Tony Snow is once again dealing with cancer. We found out today a tumor has attached to his liver, but is not inside the liver itself. He had once already battled colon cancer. Snow is said to be feeling good and anticipating aggressive treatment.

Sheryl Crow is also a cancer survivor. She is in Washington today to urge passage of the breast cancer and environmental research act. On CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," she pushed for more funding.

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SHERYL CROW, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: Clearly, a lot of our attention and a lot of our money is going towards the war. And we're forgetting that this still exists and the funding just has got to be there. It's really, I think, a lack of leadership. And now is the time. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Crow underwent breast cancer surgery a year ago.

LEMON: A particularly -- important new advice for women at high risk of breast cancer. New evidence shows magnetic resonance imagining MRI may help turn up trouble spots that mammograms miss.

CNN Medical Correspondent Judy Fortin is here with a closer look at that. Judy, what do you have?

JUDY FORTIN, MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Don, this is big news effecting the future of breast cancer detection. For the very first time, the American Cancer Society is recommending that women at increased risk for breast cancer should get an annual MRI screening in addition to a mammogram. MRI screening often picks up small tumors that are sometimes missed by mammograms.

Now, most healthy women who have an average risk of developing breast cancer are not affected by these recommendations. That's important to note. Only a small percentage of women fall into this new category. About one to two percent, or up to one-and-a-half million women. These women are asymptomatic with a genetic mutation. Women with a close relative, so-called first degree relative, like mothers, sisters, aunts, with a genetic mutation. Also, women with two or more close relatives diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer before the age of 50. Also, women who received chest radiation between the ages of 10 to 30 as treatment for conditions like Hodgkin's Disease.

So you can see it's a pretty narrow area but still, about one- and-a-half million women are affected by this.

LEMON: OK, so if this MRI, this imaging turns up things that mammograms might miss, then why isn't every woman being recommended for this?

FORTIN: Well, some people might think they should be recommended, but most women are not predisposed to breast cancer. So there are several other reasons, too, why all women are not advised to get an MRI.

MRI has a very high risk of false positives. The Cancer Society says that could lead to a number of unavoidable biopsies, biopsies that you really don't need. It can create fear, anxiety, and adverse health effects.

MRI's are expensive, the average MRI costs about $2,000, that's about 20 times the cost of a mammogram and it's still unknown how it benefits average women. Also, MRI technology, especially for breast cancer in checking the breast is not available everywhere.

And another point I want to mention here too is that radiologists may not be equipped at this point to handle the increase in MRI requests. The Cancer Society's already expected to get an increase on the requests on whether or not women should be having this. LEMON: Yes, it seems expensive. OK, so if you're at risk, what do you do?

FORTIN: Well, the first thing you should do if you're a woman at risk is talk with your own doctor. And the American Cancer Society actually recommends genetic counseling be done first before an MRI screening. And if you do go for an MRI, make sure the facility also can perform a biopsy. Otherwise the MRI will have to be repeated at a diagnostic facility.

A lot of extra time, a lot of extra worry, and more money.

LEMON: OK, so there's this actual study on breast cancer. It's also making news. Who does it affect, and what were the findings in this?

FORTIN: Well, just to be clear, this is separate from the American Cancer Society guidelines. A report in the New England Journal of Medicine is calling on women newly diagnosed with cancer in one breast to get an MRI scan of the opposite breast. Experts say there's about a 10 percent chance that women who have cancer in one breast will eventually develop it in the other as well.

Researchers claim MRIs can detect tumors that a mammogram might miss. So if new tumors are discovered, it would allow the woman to undergo cancer treatment all at once. Again, saving time, worry, and they don't have to undergo a second set of treatments.

LEMON: And Judy, thank you so much because this is timely information with all of the news about cancer. Yes, so very timely. Thank you for that information.

FORTIN: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right Don. More information on the fire taking place in downtown Chicago. The fire's concentrated on the roof top right here of the 500 West Monroe address. On the phone with us right now, Chicago fire department spokesperson Larry Langford. So, Larry, is that right? This fire is concentrated just on the roof top, which means very -- few lives are in jeopardy?

VOICE OF LARRY LANGFORD, CHICAGO FIRE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: Some of the equipment on the roof, probably the air conditioning equipment. That's where the fire broke out. That's where the fire is contained. It has not spread to the building itself. We have multiple lines on the fire. Making good progress to extinguishing it.

We never ordered the evacuation of the building. Some people thought it best to self-evacuate. So we're assisting people out of the building who want to leave. We're conducting top to bottom stairwell searches to make sure that no one is in any distress.

We called the second alarm to get additional crews here to help in the search efforts and just for actual physical manpower on the scene, but not because of the spread of fire.

WHITFIELD: What kind of businesses are in this building?

LANGFORD: There are some commercial on the first floor, but a residential building, basically.

WHITFIELD: Oh, OK,and this is a 45-level building, is that right? Forty-five floors?

LANGFORD: Yes, it is. Forty-five floors. We have five ambulances at the scene as a precaution. We're taking a look at a couple of people. One person's been transported in very good condition.

WHITFIELD: A lot of times you have fires which means high-rise buildings. The elevators are no longer working. So how did your firefighters get to the roof top?

LANGFORD: The firefighters were able to use the elevators, especially elevators in (INAUDIBLE) mode. They're available only for our crews. As far as people leaving, we assisted them downstairs. And we use the elevators to get crews upstairs.

WHITFIELD: And I understand this call came in when you and many others firefighters were attending a funeral for another fallen firefighter, is that right?

LANGFORD: That is correct. But all of the fire houses in the city were fully staffed. We had no problem getting personnel to take care of this downtown.

WHITFIELD: All right, Larry Langford at the Chicago fire department, thanks so much.

LANGFORD: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: We're going to continue to keep close tabs on the situation there in Chicago.

Meantime, coming up, more on the British marines and sailors held captive in Iran. New video of them being broadcast today. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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