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American Morning

'Gimme a Minute'; 'Paging Dr. Gupta'

Aired July 23, 2004 - 08:30   ET

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

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


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everybody, 8:32 here in New York. Soledad is resting. Heidi Collins with us today yet again.
Good morning to you.

COLLINS: Good morning.

HEMMER: It's Friday. "Gimme a Minute," a moment here. Looking at undecided voters, they are hard to find this year, so says the surveys anyway. We'll talk about that with our panel, which includes the "Daily Show's" Rob Cordoroy this morning, first time. Get to that in a moment.

COLLINS: Also could casual Friday have societal benefits that no one ever imagined? Sanjay Gupta will be with us, join the link between the comfy clothes and losing weight.

HEMMER: All right. It is Friday, time for our "give me a minute" panel. The crews goes on the clock now. CNN political contributor Donna Brazile out in Salt Lake today.

Donna, good morning to you.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning to you, Bill.

HEMMER: She is also the author of "Cooking With Grease, Stirring the Pots in American Politics." From D.C. Jonah Goldberg, editor of the "National Review" online. Jonah, good morning to you as well.

JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Good morning Bill.

HEMMER: And here in New York City, Rob Cordoroy of "The Daily Show" first time. How you doing?

ROB CORDOROY, "THE DAILY SHOW": Hi, Bill. Let's do it.

HEMMER: Jonah or Donna let's start with you. Sorry, ladies first. Our poll at CNN shows that 83 percent of those surveyed have already made up their mind about who they want for president. That leaves 17 percent left for the undecided vote. How does John Kerry get it starting Monday in Boston?

BRAZILE: Well, first of all, they know George Bush and they decided they don't want to work with him anymore. So I think John Kerry has an opportunity next week to tell him that he's going to keep them safe and secure and he's going to give them some money back so I think John Kerry has an excellent opportunity to woo those 17 percent.

HEMMER: To get the majority, you only need 9 percent of that 17. Jonah.

GOLDBERG: But -- what was that flourish thing? Did everyone else hear that? Anyway, I think Donna's right. John Kerry can give everybody some money back. In fact, his wife has enough to give every undecided voter $1,000 in cash. My guess is that what Kerry needs to do is stay off his - convince Americans that this election is about economics and health care and all that kind of stuff and stay off terrorism. That's what a lot of people want to hear.

HEMMER: By the way, that was our cymbal sound effect, cued at the wrong time. You're OK, Jonah.

GOLDBERG: Freaked me out.

HEMMER: The sound was not in your head. Hey, Rob, do the math.

CORDOROY: Actually I'm sorry about that. That cymbal was me. I missed my cue. Sorry. I have a high hat here. That 17 percent I think represents the percentage of our society who are naturally indecisive people, or -- I don't know, flip-floppers, to coin a term. And I think that Kerry should just relate to them and say, look, I am -- I'm like you. I'm a flip-flopper. I have trouble deciding or I don't. I don't know. I can't decide.

BRAZILE: Depends on the day I guess.

HEMMER: Stay confused. Jonah, let's go to the 9/11 report. I don't know if you heard the Commissioner Thomas Kean yesterday. He says politics want to come into play here. He says the American people are sick of it. Do it at your own risk. What element does politics play a role in the report that came out yesterday?

GOLDBERG: Oh, I think it's a tough one and I think George Bush is actually playing some smart politics by not casting any blame on Clinton and saying that everyone shares the blame equally. Because for Bush to be bipartisan makes Kerry look partisan if he tries to use this report for politics because I don't think people don't want to hear it.

HEMMER: The question also, does Congress act now or not? What do you think Donna?

BRAZILE: Congress should act now. I agree with Jack. They should cancel their vacation and get back to Washington, D.C., roll up their sleeves, take away their partisan egos and get to work. The American people want to remain safe and secure.

HEMMER: You made your mind up about this, Rob?

CORDOROY: Yeah, I have. I think Congress needs the vacation, for one. I mean, get out there and enjoy the sun and the heat! They've been working really hard but I don't think we -- he's smart not to blame Clinton, because he's trying to blame Iran on everything and blaming Clinton is just confusing, because you can't invade Bill Clinton.

HEMMER: We know that. Jenna Bush stuck out her tongue earlier in the week. Freeze frame caught a still picture of Jenna Bush on the campaign trail. Donna, what do you make of this? We're we all just young once too?

BRAZILE: Well, as Cyndi Lauper said it best, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Look, I'm waiting to see them at the convention. They appear to be having a good time. Let them have a great time.

HEMMER: There's an online chat later today with both of the Bush daughters. Some suggest a five-second delay. How about it Jonah?

GOLDBERG: Dick Cheney drops the 'F' bomb on a senator and "The Washington Post" prints the word, pull out, and Jenna Bush sticks her tongue out at some reporters and everybody wants to hit the five- second delay. I think this will only help them. It makes her look cute, makes her look carefree. It's silly stuff.

HEMMER: You know what other say? They say the media deserves it! What about it, Rob?

CORDOROY: No one saw the reporters taunting her with beads before she did that. I think, actually, I'm a little scared, that she may be on the verge of going wild. And when that girl goes wild, actually, she showed -- my prescription would be to stay, keep her away from Snoop Dogg.

HEMMER: Advice taken. Under the radar, Jonah, what did we miss this past week?

GOLDBERG: The thing the girl's gone wild video reference we just heard went under the radar for a lot of people, but I thought it was pretty funny. I think that 9/11, the report, actually bolsters the case for the patriot act. This entire election year we've heard Democrats saying that the patriot act is one of the main reasons to get rid of Bush and it turns out the 9/11 report endorses all the principles of the patriot report.

HEMMER: Donna?

BRAZILE: National Council of State Legislators meeting out here in Utah have concluded that the states are rebounding in terms of the budget crisis but there's still a tough road ahead.

HEMMER: Rob, how about you? Finish it off.

CORDOROY: Apparently Sandy Berger was in the news somewhere this week and we didn't hear anything about that. You guys didn't cover it. I figured the Republicans would have been all over that. And no one - it must have been a crazy news week. A white girl must have fallen in a well or something.

HEMMER: Rob, we're waiting on your video, too. Next time you come back, will we see it? Maybe, maybe not. Good to have you. We'll see you in Boston, Donna, Jonah. BRAZILE: Absolutely.

HEMMER: Rob, have a great weekend. Good to have you. Thanks to all three of you. Here's Heidi.

COLLINS: Still to come a man who just doesn't want to be bothered, not even for a few million bucks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSE JAMES HARDY, LANDOWNER: The cigarettes and the pina coladas, so that and I'm to the point of age wise, that the women ain't looking that brightly anymore anyway. So $4.5 million is not that important to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Huh. Well, we'll tell you about a man who has something the state wants, but he's not selling.

Also in a moment, maybe it's time to stop dressing up for work. It could help you lose weight. Sanjay explains that in a moment on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Could you actually lose weight just by wearing the right clothes? Well, it's a good question to ask on this casual Friday. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us from the CNN Center. Obviously, I did not get the memo. I'm wearing a suit. Could I have worn shorts or something?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Perhaps and it might be good for you. I wore this shirt, it might be good for my health as well, casual Fridays. The American Council on Exercise decided to take a look to find out whether or not the clothes that you wore, especially on Friday in this case could actually have an impact on your physical health. And their answer a little bit surprising, not a tremendous impact of wearing casual clothes but certainly some.

In the study from the American Council of Exercise, what they found was that when people dressed up, they certainly tended to walk around the office a certain amount. In this case, office clothes, they usually walk about 6,200 steps, 6,201 steps. If you're wearing casual clothes, you tend to get up and walk around a little bit more, 6,694 steps per day on average of course, about 25 or more calorie per day. That may not seem like a lot, Heidi, but if you sort of count it up at the end of the year, it's about 1.75 pounds that you could save if you dressed up every Friday casually and that's enough to offset the average gain that people would otherwise have. Not bad!

COLLINS: 1.7 what, pounds a year?

GUPTA: 1.75 pounds a year. But here's the thing about that. That's the average amount that the average American gains if they change nothing else in their lives, gain about two pounds a year. COLLINS: OK, well, what do you think it is about wearing casual clothes that actually allowed people for make them think they can move more?

GUPTA: I think some of it is really specific, some of it's a little bit more philosophical. Really specific for example, with women and their shoes. For example, your shoes, Heidi. If you were to wear actually more comfortable shoes, you'd probably be able to get around - there your shoes are right there.

COLLINS: They're very comfortable. They're a little pointy.

GUPTA: But you're not going to do a lot of stairs in those shoes. You're not going to do a lot of stepping. They're very nice shoes, but --

COLLINS: Thanks.

GUPTA: Yes, if you wear more comfortable shoes - and I think it's also just loser, less restrictive clothing, once you get up, walk around more. You also maybe more likely to go to the gym, not worrying about your fancy suit or something like that. You could - all those things could possibly be helping.

COLLINS: Anything else we can do at work beside comfortable shoes and clothes and stuff?

GUPTA: I think a lot of it is having a strict routine, having a routine that you actually get to the gym every day. A lot of office buildings are starting to put in gyms, starting to put in workout facilities. You can also, if you want to measure specifics, you can wear a pedometer. It looks a little ridiculous, admittedly. Maybe you can hide it somewhere but where the pedometer. Get up instead of e- mailing. Go talk to people. That always helps, maybe. And if you have headsets in your office, maybe you could do a walking meeting, where you actually pace around the office instead of just sitting at your desk, Heidi. All those things might help.

COLLINS: I think there's a lot of pacing that goes on in this office without the recommendations.

GUPTA: Now you get Bill kind of not to wear one of those ties with a dimple on it one day on the set! See if you can do that.

COLLINS: OK, we'll get back to him on that. Very good, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much for that. Happy Friday!

GUPTA: You, too.

COLLINS: Still to come this morning, the Democratic convention starts in just a few days and now authorities are warning a specific group that it could be the target of a possible attack. Stay with us on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) We're at 47 minutes past the hour. Back to Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN center checking the other news today. Fred, good morning again.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again.

President Bush is courting the African-American vote today. He's heading to Detroit where he will address the National Urban League. The president has been criticized for declining to address the nation's largest civil rights group, the NAACP. His Democratic rival John Kerry spoke to the Urban League yesterday. Today Kerry kicks off his pre-convention tour at the Colorado hospital where he was born.

Authorities in Boston are warning the media of a possible attack at next week's Democratic National Convention. Law enforcement sources tell CNN there's been a credible threat that a home-grown group or individual may be planning an attack on media vans. But a government security bulletin says there are no specifics about any attack during the convention.

Congress has given final approval to a nearly $418 billion defense spending bill. The bill includes $25 billion in emergency funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The president says he's looking forward to signing the measure, which also includes a 3.5 percent pay raise for the troops.

The government's star witness in the Martha Stewart trial is being sentenced today. Douglas Faneuil pleaded guilt to a misdemeanor for accepting bribes to keep quiet about Stewart's infamous sale of ImClone stock. Faneuil is expected to receive probation.

And finally, a big homecoming today in San Diego. The aircraft career "USS Ronald Reagan" is arriving at its home port for the first time today. The nearly 1,100 foot nuclear carrier began its trip around South America from Norfolk, Virginia at the end of May, some 10,000 people are expected to be dockside for that arrival.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Fred, thanks for that. Back to Jack here in New York now and the "Question of the Day."

JACK CAFFERTY: Hundreds and hundreds of responses to this. The 9/11 report's out, a lot of recommendations from the commission on things that need to be changed in order to make this country safe from terror. So what happens next? Well, apparently nothing. Congress says it won't be able to address these recommendations until next year. In fact, they're leaving today on a vacation. How long do they go away for, a month or something?

HEMMER: Almost five weeks, right? September 6th?

CAFFERTY And they said, even if they can get to it, the legislative agenda is always full for this year. Who sets the agenda? Why, Congress does. Remember, they stopped everything to debate the constitutional amendment on gay marriage? You can be sure that they'll get their vacations in. They'll have their breaks. They'll all have time to campaign for re-election, but they've got no time to act on the recommendations of the 9/11 report. That's just -- it's just mind-boggling.

Here's the question, what should Congress do about the 9/11 report? Annabelle in Ticonderoga, New York gets it. They should stay in Washington until the issue's been addressed and action taken. Susan in North Carolina, what should Congress do? It would be more appropriate to ask U.S. citizens what they should do. It's as much our responsibility as theirs. If our representatives aren't willing to give the 9/11 recommendations priority one and consideration, then kick them out.

And, Julie, Sayreville, New Jersey says if you want to get the attention of Congress, tell them al Qaeda's planning to send teams of terrorists to Boston next week where they will take part in gay marriages. After that, the teams will fan out across the country and try to force other state governments to recognize gay marriages. That will get immediate action from the Republican leadership in the Congress. Julie, very good. You get a B-plus. Not bad.

HEMMER: This is the book.

CAFFERTY: And the thing about the (INAUDIBLE) stuff -- it was a joke. Just a joke.

HEMMER: This is the book. I don't know if you heard one of the commissioners yesterday, Chairman Thomas Kean who said listen, if you want to go out and play politics with this, forget about it. He says the American people are sick and tired of it.

CAFFERTY: I've known Tom Kean for 20 years, since he was the governor of New Jersey and I was working across the street. This is an honorable, decent good man, and I would trust him...

HEMMER: He's staked his reputation on this, Jack.

CAFFERTY: And he has one, unlike most people in Washington. No. It's -- he's a good guy. I don't know the other guy who worked with you him as well. But I've known Tom Kean a long time and they don't get any better.

COLLINS: All right. Jack, thanks a lot. Still to come this morning, one man's little piece of paradise and why he's unwilling to give it up, even if it makes him a millionaire. Tell you about that next on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The state of Florida is offering millions of dollars to a disabled former Navy SEAL to get him to leave his home in the Everglades. But he just isn't budging. Here's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jesse James Hardy. Yes, that's his name. Doesn't like some of the things big city folks call him.

JESSE JAMES HARDY, LANDOWNER: I'm not no recluse and I'm not no hermit.

ZARRELLA: Jesse James owns 160 acres of mostly hard ground, thick brush, palm and pine trees in southwest Florida near Naples. He built the house himself. A rented generator runs the A/C. You've got propane tanks?

HARDY: I use propane for refrigeration and cooking.

ZARRELLA: Harvey is a man who just wants to be left alone, but that's not going to happen. You see, he stands in the way of perhaps the most ambitious environmental project ever undertaken, the $8 billion Everglades restoration. Harvey's land is part of 55,000 acres that would be re-flooded to return the glades to a river of grass.

ERNIE BARNETT, FLORIDA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: Without that critical last piece of property in public ownership, we would not be able to do the restoration project without jeopardizing his constitutionally afforded rights for flood protection.

ZARRELLA: In 1976, Hardy, a disabled former Navy SEAL, paid $60,000 for the land. The state is offering him $4.5 million. He's not selling. At 68 years old, Hardy says, what would he do with the money?

HARDY: I quit cigarettes and the pina coladas, and I'm to the point of age wise, the women ain't looking that brightly anymore, anyway. So $4.5 million is not that important to me. They should have give me that 30 or 40 years ago and I would have been out of here.

ZARRELLA: Hardy and the state are still negotiating.

HARDY: The only way you can fight them is in court. You know what happened at Waco. You know what happened in some of those other places, putting the heat on you. I mean, you're gone!

ZARRELLA: If negotiations fail, Florida says it will use its eminent domain authority to force him to sell the piece of land that until now no one wanted, except Jesse James Hardy. John Zarrella, Collier County, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: One Hardy supporter has even written a blue grass song called "The Ballad of Jesse Hardy." And the Web site (INAUDIBLE) legal struggle has been created. It's jessehardy.org.

HEMMER: In a moment here, the final 9/11 report is now out. Many of the victims too are speaking. Some say there is still work to be done. Next hour we'll talk to the daughter of one victim. Her thoughts top of the hour on AMERICAN MORNING."

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired July 23, 2004 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everybody, 8:32 here in New York. Soledad is resting. Heidi Collins with us today yet again.
Good morning to you.

COLLINS: Good morning.

HEMMER: It's Friday. "Gimme a Minute," a moment here. Looking at undecided voters, they are hard to find this year, so says the surveys anyway. We'll talk about that with our panel, which includes the "Daily Show's" Rob Cordoroy this morning, first time. Get to that in a moment.

COLLINS: Also could casual Friday have societal benefits that no one ever imagined? Sanjay Gupta will be with us, join the link between the comfy clothes and losing weight.

HEMMER: All right. It is Friday, time for our "give me a minute" panel. The crews goes on the clock now. CNN political contributor Donna Brazile out in Salt Lake today.

Donna, good morning to you.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning to you, Bill.

HEMMER: She is also the author of "Cooking With Grease, Stirring the Pots in American Politics." From D.C. Jonah Goldberg, editor of the "National Review" online. Jonah, good morning to you as well.

JONAH GOLDBERG, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE: Good morning Bill.

HEMMER: And here in New York City, Rob Cordoroy of "The Daily Show" first time. How you doing?

ROB CORDOROY, "THE DAILY SHOW": Hi, Bill. Let's do it.

HEMMER: Jonah or Donna let's start with you. Sorry, ladies first. Our poll at CNN shows that 83 percent of those surveyed have already made up their mind about who they want for president. That leaves 17 percent left for the undecided vote. How does John Kerry get it starting Monday in Boston?

BRAZILE: Well, first of all, they know George Bush and they decided they don't want to work with him anymore. So I think John Kerry has an opportunity next week to tell him that he's going to keep them safe and secure and he's going to give them some money back so I think John Kerry has an excellent opportunity to woo those 17 percent.

HEMMER: To get the majority, you only need 9 percent of that 17. Jonah.

GOLDBERG: But -- what was that flourish thing? Did everyone else hear that? Anyway, I think Donna's right. John Kerry can give everybody some money back. In fact, his wife has enough to give every undecided voter $1,000 in cash. My guess is that what Kerry needs to do is stay off his - convince Americans that this election is about economics and health care and all that kind of stuff and stay off terrorism. That's what a lot of people want to hear.

HEMMER: By the way, that was our cymbal sound effect, cued at the wrong time. You're OK, Jonah.

GOLDBERG: Freaked me out.

HEMMER: The sound was not in your head. Hey, Rob, do the math.

CORDOROY: Actually I'm sorry about that. That cymbal was me. I missed my cue. Sorry. I have a high hat here. That 17 percent I think represents the percentage of our society who are naturally indecisive people, or -- I don't know, flip-floppers, to coin a term. And I think that Kerry should just relate to them and say, look, I am -- I'm like you. I'm a flip-flopper. I have trouble deciding or I don't. I don't know. I can't decide.

BRAZILE: Depends on the day I guess.

HEMMER: Stay confused. Jonah, let's go to the 9/11 report. I don't know if you heard the Commissioner Thomas Kean yesterday. He says politics want to come into play here. He says the American people are sick of it. Do it at your own risk. What element does politics play a role in the report that came out yesterday?

GOLDBERG: Oh, I think it's a tough one and I think George Bush is actually playing some smart politics by not casting any blame on Clinton and saying that everyone shares the blame equally. Because for Bush to be bipartisan makes Kerry look partisan if he tries to use this report for politics because I don't think people don't want to hear it.

HEMMER: The question also, does Congress act now or not? What do you think Donna?

BRAZILE: Congress should act now. I agree with Jack. They should cancel their vacation and get back to Washington, D.C., roll up their sleeves, take away their partisan egos and get to work. The American people want to remain safe and secure.

HEMMER: You made your mind up about this, Rob?

CORDOROY: Yeah, I have. I think Congress needs the vacation, for one. I mean, get out there and enjoy the sun and the heat! They've been working really hard but I don't think we -- he's smart not to blame Clinton, because he's trying to blame Iran on everything and blaming Clinton is just confusing, because you can't invade Bill Clinton.

HEMMER: We know that. Jenna Bush stuck out her tongue earlier in the week. Freeze frame caught a still picture of Jenna Bush on the campaign trail. Donna, what do you make of this? We're we all just young once too?

BRAZILE: Well, as Cyndi Lauper said it best, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Look, I'm waiting to see them at the convention. They appear to be having a good time. Let them have a great time.

HEMMER: There's an online chat later today with both of the Bush daughters. Some suggest a five-second delay. How about it Jonah?

GOLDBERG: Dick Cheney drops the 'F' bomb on a senator and "The Washington Post" prints the word, pull out, and Jenna Bush sticks her tongue out at some reporters and everybody wants to hit the five- second delay. I think this will only help them. It makes her look cute, makes her look carefree. It's silly stuff.

HEMMER: You know what other say? They say the media deserves it! What about it, Rob?

CORDOROY: No one saw the reporters taunting her with beads before she did that. I think, actually, I'm a little scared, that she may be on the verge of going wild. And when that girl goes wild, actually, she showed -- my prescription would be to stay, keep her away from Snoop Dogg.

HEMMER: Advice taken. Under the radar, Jonah, what did we miss this past week?

GOLDBERG: The thing the girl's gone wild video reference we just heard went under the radar for a lot of people, but I thought it was pretty funny. I think that 9/11, the report, actually bolsters the case for the patriot act. This entire election year we've heard Democrats saying that the patriot act is one of the main reasons to get rid of Bush and it turns out the 9/11 report endorses all the principles of the patriot report.

HEMMER: Donna?

BRAZILE: National Council of State Legislators meeting out here in Utah have concluded that the states are rebounding in terms of the budget crisis but there's still a tough road ahead.

HEMMER: Rob, how about you? Finish it off.

CORDOROY: Apparently Sandy Berger was in the news somewhere this week and we didn't hear anything about that. You guys didn't cover it. I figured the Republicans would have been all over that. And no one - it must have been a crazy news week. A white girl must have fallen in a well or something.

HEMMER: Rob, we're waiting on your video, too. Next time you come back, will we see it? Maybe, maybe not. Good to have you. We'll see you in Boston, Donna, Jonah. BRAZILE: Absolutely.

HEMMER: Rob, have a great weekend. Good to have you. Thanks to all three of you. Here's Heidi.

COLLINS: Still to come a man who just doesn't want to be bothered, not even for a few million bucks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSE JAMES HARDY, LANDOWNER: The cigarettes and the pina coladas, so that and I'm to the point of age wise, that the women ain't looking that brightly anymore anyway. So $4.5 million is not that important to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Huh. Well, we'll tell you about a man who has something the state wants, but he's not selling.

Also in a moment, maybe it's time to stop dressing up for work. It could help you lose weight. Sanjay explains that in a moment on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Could you actually lose weight just by wearing the right clothes? Well, it's a good question to ask on this casual Friday. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with us from the CNN Center. Obviously, I did not get the memo. I'm wearing a suit. Could I have worn shorts or something?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Perhaps and it might be good for you. I wore this shirt, it might be good for my health as well, casual Fridays. The American Council on Exercise decided to take a look to find out whether or not the clothes that you wore, especially on Friday in this case could actually have an impact on your physical health. And their answer a little bit surprising, not a tremendous impact of wearing casual clothes but certainly some.

In the study from the American Council of Exercise, what they found was that when people dressed up, they certainly tended to walk around the office a certain amount. In this case, office clothes, they usually walk about 6,200 steps, 6,201 steps. If you're wearing casual clothes, you tend to get up and walk around a little bit more, 6,694 steps per day on average of course, about 25 or more calorie per day. That may not seem like a lot, Heidi, but if you sort of count it up at the end of the year, it's about 1.75 pounds that you could save if you dressed up every Friday casually and that's enough to offset the average gain that people would otherwise have. Not bad!

COLLINS: 1.7 what, pounds a year?

GUPTA: 1.75 pounds a year. But here's the thing about that. That's the average amount that the average American gains if they change nothing else in their lives, gain about two pounds a year. COLLINS: OK, well, what do you think it is about wearing casual clothes that actually allowed people for make them think they can move more?

GUPTA: I think some of it is really specific, some of it's a little bit more philosophical. Really specific for example, with women and their shoes. For example, your shoes, Heidi. If you were to wear actually more comfortable shoes, you'd probably be able to get around - there your shoes are right there.

COLLINS: They're very comfortable. They're a little pointy.

GUPTA: But you're not going to do a lot of stairs in those shoes. You're not going to do a lot of stepping. They're very nice shoes, but --

COLLINS: Thanks.

GUPTA: Yes, if you wear more comfortable shoes - and I think it's also just loser, less restrictive clothing, once you get up, walk around more. You also maybe more likely to go to the gym, not worrying about your fancy suit or something like that. You could - all those things could possibly be helping.

COLLINS: Anything else we can do at work beside comfortable shoes and clothes and stuff?

GUPTA: I think a lot of it is having a strict routine, having a routine that you actually get to the gym every day. A lot of office buildings are starting to put in gyms, starting to put in workout facilities. You can also, if you want to measure specifics, you can wear a pedometer. It looks a little ridiculous, admittedly. Maybe you can hide it somewhere but where the pedometer. Get up instead of e- mailing. Go talk to people. That always helps, maybe. And if you have headsets in your office, maybe you could do a walking meeting, where you actually pace around the office instead of just sitting at your desk, Heidi. All those things might help.

COLLINS: I think there's a lot of pacing that goes on in this office without the recommendations.

GUPTA: Now you get Bill kind of not to wear one of those ties with a dimple on it one day on the set! See if you can do that.

COLLINS: OK, we'll get back to him on that. Very good, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much for that. Happy Friday!

GUPTA: You, too.

COLLINS: Still to come this morning, the Democratic convention starts in just a few days and now authorities are warning a specific group that it could be the target of a possible attack. Stay with us on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) We're at 47 minutes past the hour. Back to Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN center checking the other news today. Fred, good morning again.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again.

President Bush is courting the African-American vote today. He's heading to Detroit where he will address the National Urban League. The president has been criticized for declining to address the nation's largest civil rights group, the NAACP. His Democratic rival John Kerry spoke to the Urban League yesterday. Today Kerry kicks off his pre-convention tour at the Colorado hospital where he was born.

Authorities in Boston are warning the media of a possible attack at next week's Democratic National Convention. Law enforcement sources tell CNN there's been a credible threat that a home-grown group or individual may be planning an attack on media vans. But a government security bulletin says there are no specifics about any attack during the convention.

Congress has given final approval to a nearly $418 billion defense spending bill. The bill includes $25 billion in emergency funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The president says he's looking forward to signing the measure, which also includes a 3.5 percent pay raise for the troops.

The government's star witness in the Martha Stewart trial is being sentenced today. Douglas Faneuil pleaded guilt to a misdemeanor for accepting bribes to keep quiet about Stewart's infamous sale of ImClone stock. Faneuil is expected to receive probation.

And finally, a big homecoming today in San Diego. The aircraft career "USS Ronald Reagan" is arriving at its home port for the first time today. The nearly 1,100 foot nuclear carrier began its trip around South America from Norfolk, Virginia at the end of May, some 10,000 people are expected to be dockside for that arrival.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Fred, thanks for that. Back to Jack here in New York now and the "Question of the Day."

JACK CAFFERTY: Hundreds and hundreds of responses to this. The 9/11 report's out, a lot of recommendations from the commission on things that need to be changed in order to make this country safe from terror. So what happens next? Well, apparently nothing. Congress says it won't be able to address these recommendations until next year. In fact, they're leaving today on a vacation. How long do they go away for, a month or something?

HEMMER: Almost five weeks, right? September 6th?

CAFFERTY And they said, even if they can get to it, the legislative agenda is always full for this year. Who sets the agenda? Why, Congress does. Remember, they stopped everything to debate the constitutional amendment on gay marriage? You can be sure that they'll get their vacations in. They'll have their breaks. They'll all have time to campaign for re-election, but they've got no time to act on the recommendations of the 9/11 report. That's just -- it's just mind-boggling.

Here's the question, what should Congress do about the 9/11 report? Annabelle in Ticonderoga, New York gets it. They should stay in Washington until the issue's been addressed and action taken. Susan in North Carolina, what should Congress do? It would be more appropriate to ask U.S. citizens what they should do. It's as much our responsibility as theirs. If our representatives aren't willing to give the 9/11 recommendations priority one and consideration, then kick them out.

And, Julie, Sayreville, New Jersey says if you want to get the attention of Congress, tell them al Qaeda's planning to send teams of terrorists to Boston next week where they will take part in gay marriages. After that, the teams will fan out across the country and try to force other state governments to recognize gay marriages. That will get immediate action from the Republican leadership in the Congress. Julie, very good. You get a B-plus. Not bad.

HEMMER: This is the book.

CAFFERTY: And the thing about the (INAUDIBLE) stuff -- it was a joke. Just a joke.

HEMMER: This is the book. I don't know if you heard one of the commissioners yesterday, Chairman Thomas Kean who said listen, if you want to go out and play politics with this, forget about it. He says the American people are sick and tired of it.

CAFFERTY: I've known Tom Kean for 20 years, since he was the governor of New Jersey and I was working across the street. This is an honorable, decent good man, and I would trust him...

HEMMER: He's staked his reputation on this, Jack.

CAFFERTY: And he has one, unlike most people in Washington. No. It's -- he's a good guy. I don't know the other guy who worked with you him as well. But I've known Tom Kean a long time and they don't get any better.

COLLINS: All right. Jack, thanks a lot. Still to come this morning, one man's little piece of paradise and why he's unwilling to give it up, even if it makes him a millionaire. Tell you about that next on "American Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The state of Florida is offering millions of dollars to a disabled former Navy SEAL to get him to leave his home in the Everglades. But he just isn't budging. Here's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jesse James Hardy. Yes, that's his name. Doesn't like some of the things big city folks call him.

JESSE JAMES HARDY, LANDOWNER: I'm not no recluse and I'm not no hermit.

ZARRELLA: Jesse James owns 160 acres of mostly hard ground, thick brush, palm and pine trees in southwest Florida near Naples. He built the house himself. A rented generator runs the A/C. You've got propane tanks?

HARDY: I use propane for refrigeration and cooking.

ZARRELLA: Harvey is a man who just wants to be left alone, but that's not going to happen. You see, he stands in the way of perhaps the most ambitious environmental project ever undertaken, the $8 billion Everglades restoration. Harvey's land is part of 55,000 acres that would be re-flooded to return the glades to a river of grass.

ERNIE BARNETT, FLORIDA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: Without that critical last piece of property in public ownership, we would not be able to do the restoration project without jeopardizing his constitutionally afforded rights for flood protection.

ZARRELLA: In 1976, Hardy, a disabled former Navy SEAL, paid $60,000 for the land. The state is offering him $4.5 million. He's not selling. At 68 years old, Hardy says, what would he do with the money?

HARDY: I quit cigarettes and the pina coladas, and I'm to the point of age wise, the women ain't looking that brightly anymore, anyway. So $4.5 million is not that important to me. They should have give me that 30 or 40 years ago and I would have been out of here.

ZARRELLA: Hardy and the state are still negotiating.

HARDY: The only way you can fight them is in court. You know what happened at Waco. You know what happened in some of those other places, putting the heat on you. I mean, you're gone!

ZARRELLA: If negotiations fail, Florida says it will use its eminent domain authority to force him to sell the piece of land that until now no one wanted, except Jesse James Hardy. John Zarrella, Collier County, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: One Hardy supporter has even written a blue grass song called "The Ballad of Jesse Hardy." And the Web site (INAUDIBLE) legal struggle has been created. It's jessehardy.org.

HEMMER: In a moment here, the final 9/11 report is now out. Many of the victims too are speaking. Some say there is still work to be done. Next hour we'll talk to the daughter of one victim. Her thoughts top of the hour on AMERICAN MORNING."

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