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Tireless Search Continues for Missing Utah Woman; Jesse James Versus the Government

Aired July 23, 2004 - 13:30   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening in the news right now. Pulling into home port, Nancy Reagan flown in by helicopter as the carrier named for her late husband entered San Diego Harbor after its first trip.
CNN's Miguel Marquez reports live from the scene about 30 minutes from now. We'll bring you that.

Possible terror target in Boston. The FBI warns a group here in the U.S. may be planning to attack media vehicles during next week's Democratic convention. We'll have a full report from CNN's Bob Franken on that one at the bottom of the hour.

Sentencing day for a key figure in the Martha Stewart case. No prison time, but a $2,000 fine for Douglas Faneuil. Faneuil was the Merrill Lynch employee who gave Stewart a tip about ImClone's stock, and later testified against her.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The tireless search continues today for a missing Utah woman, while new reports surface about her husband.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is following the developments now in Salt Lake City and joins us live.

Hi, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Dozens of volunteers are out again today, looking for Lori Hacking, the 27-year-old woman that just found out she was pregnant last week. Has been missing since Monday morning, when her husband called police and said that she was missing.

Earlier today, family members joined together for a joint news conference here at the volunteer center in Salt Lake City. They remain unified behind the search effort, hoping that people will continue to look for Lori despite the latest rumors in the case, and the latest facts as well. Salt Lake City Police have confirmed that the husband, Mark Hacking, purchased a brand new mattress on Monday morning just before he called in to tell police that his wife was missing. They also acknowledged that they were called to the scene of a hotel, what they refer to as an incident outside a Salt Lake City hotel on Monday night, where police say they were called to a scene, and they say that when they got there, Mark Hacking was there. And at that point, he was given psychiatric care. They asked for medical help.

Despite the latest revelations, the family says they believe in Mark Hacking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS HACKING, MARK HACKING'S FATHER: I confronted my son yesterday morning. I looked him in the eye, and I said, I need you to tell me if you had anything to do with Lori's disappearance, and I know you're getting anxious, but I have to tell you that he looked me in the eye, and he said no. So -- and I know a lot of you will say, well, you know, who can believe that? But I want you to at least to know that much of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: That, of course, is mark's father. The family says they're very well aware of the situation, and they're acknowledging that the deception that Mark had played out, not only against his wife, but against his entire family over the past few years is troubling. However, they say that they are staying -- they're sticking behind him.

For the past two years, Mark Hacking has basically played out a charade, that he was going to school here in Utah. He says that he graduated. Everybody thought he graduated. They even had a ceremony for it, where he claimed he was too sick to attend, so family was here. They didn't go to that. He was then going to go to medical school. All of that turned out to be a complete lie. It is concerning, of course, for family members, but they say they want to continue looking for Lori, and they say whatever you think about Mark, the most important thing is to try to find this missing woman, Lori Hacking.

PHILLIPS: Ted, just real quickly, Where is mark now?

ROWLANDS: He is still being given psychiatric care at a medical facility here in Salt Lake City. His family really didn't have an answer when asked if he wanted to leave the facility, could he. They said that they really haven't broached that subject. It sounds like he is getting some fairly intense medical treatment. The family says he is being given some different drugs.

Also the police say they had been able to talk to Mark whenever they've had questions. So detectives have been constantly talking to him throughout the week.

PHILLIPS: Ted Rowlands, live from Salt Lake, thanks so much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, there's no doubt casual Fridays are a big hit with workers. And now the argument to ditch traditional garb the rest of the workweek just got a little bit stronger.

Our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We talk a lot about casual Fridays, and now there may be a health benefit of dressing down on this day.

The American Council on exercise wanted to take a look to see if, in fact, you're any healthier if you dressed down on Fridays. And what they found in a very small study was this. Take a look. Office clothes, you typically walked around 6,200 steps per day. Not bad, but if you wore casual clothing, almost 6,700 steps per day. Now, what that translates to is about 25 calories per day, which may not sound like a lot, but in the end, at the end of the year, you actually lose about one pound and three quarters, which is typically the amount an American gains if they do nothing else. So you can offset all those gains by simply dressing down on Fridays. At least that's what the result of this small study.

Now the theory is, a couple of things. One is shoes, for example, if you're wearing more casual shoes, you'd be more likely to actually walk around a little bit, as opposed to high heels for women, for example.

Also a little bit more generally speaking, looser, restrictive clothing, you may be more likely to get up and walk around. You also may be more likely to visit the gym, as well. Of course, there are always things we can do to try and cut down a little bit of weight every day. Wear a pedometer. If you wear a pedometer, you're more likely to actually walk more. That's what studies have shown.

Also, get up instead of e-mailing or using the phone. Actually visit some of your coworkers from time to time. And finally, do a walking meeting. If you have some headsets or something like that in your office, you can actually walk around on the meeting.

Bottom line, a shirt like this instead of a shirt with a tie might make you a little bit healthier at the end of the year.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: All right, Jesse James versus the government. Jesse James Hardy that is. He owns some swamp land in the Everglades and the government wants it. Who is going to win that fight. The story coming up.

PHILLIPS: And these must be tourists in New York. When was the last time you saw seven New Yorkers voluntarily get this close? But what in the world are they doing?

It's a Jeanne Moos report, of course.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: It's a tie. Despite intense campaigning by President Bush and Senator John Kerry, and with less than four months to go until voters cast their ballots, the latest polls we have show the presidential election too close to call. But of course there are some subtleties in those numbers that we mere mortals might not grasp, which means it is time to turn to super pundit, Bill Schneider, who is on Causeway Street there in Boston.

How are you, Mr. Schneider?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. ANALYST: That's right. I'm fine, I'm here in Boston. People are gathering, your old hometown.

O'BRIEN: My old hometown. You got to get down to the No Name and get some chowder before you're out of there.

SCHNEIDER: Well, of course.

O'BRIEN: Before we get on to that important stuff, let's talk politics, shall we?

SCHNEIDER: OK.

O'BRIEN: Let's go with the first number. And this is the basic, the likely voters' choice for president going in to the Democratic Convention, 49 percent Kerry, 47 percent Bush. We'll call that with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 points, that's a dead-even tie. Put that in some perspective. Obviously Kerry and Edwards will get their bounce coming into next week, right?

SCHNEIDER: That's right. They expect to come out of this convention doing a little better than that, possibly even, let us say, 17 points ahead. Now why is that a magic number? That is the lead that Michael Dukakis, the last Massachusetts Democrat to be nominated for president in 1988, he came out of Atlanta with a 17-point lead, and he blew it. So the point is, there is no such thing as a safe lead in this game.

O'BRIEN: That is a fact. That is a fact.

Let's look at the next one. This is a good one to talk about. The impact that Ralph Nader might or might not have in November. And it's interesting, he takes a point away from Bush and two points away from Kerry. What do you think about that? Is he really going to be the spoiler that many have said he will be?

SCHNEIDER: Well, he's already been the spoiler, and he did that in 2000 when, you know, a vote for Nader turned out to be a vote for Bush. Every time Kerry talks about Ralph Nader, he says you know what, a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush, and our poll shows, yes, he's taking more votes from Kerry than Bush. Therefore, we expect his vote to go down. He got 2.5 percent last time. I don't think he'll crack 2 percent this time.

Does that mean he won't make a difference? Well in, some of those excruciatingly tight states, like maybe Florida, or this time Ohio, if he's on the ballot in those states, yes, he could still make a difference. O'BRIEN: I'm still trying to figure out who the bush supporters are, even if it's only 1 percent who are going for Nader, that's an interesting mix of politics. Let's go to the next slate. This is an interesting one. And this is the one that the real insiders look at very closely. As to whether they have their mind made up; 83 percent say their mind is made up. No point sending them any campaign literature or ads for them, but there's 13 percent, which is where the election is decided, right?

SCHNEIDER: Yes. The election is decided right there with those people who say they could change their minds. By the way, that 13 percent is half the number of voters who said they could change their minds four years ago. It was 25 percent at this point. Now it's just 13.

Who are they? Well, Miles, have a list. I have their names and addresses. I intend to call them up and find out what's on their minds, and I'll share this with our viewers, but right now, all I can tell you is this -- 62 percent of the voter who's say they could change their minds are women. Well, you know, women always have the right to change their minds. We know that.

O'BRIEN: Oh, careful. You're getting on very thin ice there in Boston. I'm not going to even probe it any further at this point.

Bill Schneider, thank you very much for joining us from Boston, and we will check in with you frequently in the run-up to the convention -- Kyra.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

PHILLIPS: In the Florida Everglades, a man named Jesse James Hardy is battling to keep his swamp land home. The state wants Hardy to give up its land for a multibillion dollar restoration project.

CNN's John Zarrella reports, Hardy's fight has made him into a bit of a folk hero.

(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)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a bicycle built for seven. Have you seen it? The story on this contraption straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hey, we switched the music. All right, a virtual lock on the sixth Tour De France win, American Lance Armstrong took it easy today. The 18th stage of the race comes after three grueling days in the Alps where Armstrong won three days in a row. Now Spain's Juan Miguel Mercado sprinted to victory winning today's leg of the three- week race. Armstrong crossed the finish line more than 11 minutes later, but the 32-year-old Texan still holds a commanding overall lead. There are just two remaining stages before the race ends Sunday in Paris. Miles is going to be there.

O'BRIEN: Wouldn't that be nice.

There's one bike that I'm not sure is allowed on the tour. Matter of fact, we can say fairly categorically it's not. It's a bicycle built for seven, and CNN's Jeanne Moos found it where else, Times Square.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You won't see this bike at the Tour de France.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it, sir? What is it?

MOOS: This bike seats seven. And if that doesn't make you wonder, wonder woman in drag might.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, ladies.

MOOS: The seven-seat bike is turning heads in Times Square. Even Spider-Man's head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah! Hold on tight, guys! Whoo!

MOOS: There are about a dozen of these seven-seaters in this country. The ones in Times Square cater to tourists.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love it! This is awesome!

MOOS: One person steers, all seven pedal. The inventor is an American artist living in Amsterdam. Eric Stoler (ph) is known for creations he calls urban UFOs, like the Light Mobile, a Volkswagen Bug with computerized light patterns, and the Bubble Heads, wearing Plexiglas spheres. And even a Bubble Boat, with its top made out of a grain silo. It sort of makes a seven-seat bike seem tame.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the SUV of bicycles.

MOOS: Owner Don Dimiti (ph) paid $16,000 for what's called the Conference Bike, and hopes to acquire a fleet of 10.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got hydraulic brakes down below it...

MOOS: It's got what's called a universal joint, one gear, front- wheel steering.

(on camera): Have you taken out any pedestrians ever?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only the ones I didn't like.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Watch out, girl.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get over yourself, buddy.

MOOS (voice-over): Despite a couple of close calls...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, sorry about that. Are you all right?

MOOS: ... Paul Creshi (ph) says he's never had an accident.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were going to hit that guy.

MOOS (on camera): You feel the bump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, you do. MOOS (voice-over): Almost as eye-catching as the bike...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh. Make some noise.

MOOS: ... is a driver in drag named Sybil (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pedal forward, honey. Forward.

MOOS: On a bicycle built for seven, you can even powder your nose...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's better than the naked cowboy.

MOOS: ... though we recommend against riding the seven-seat bike naked.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: The Olympic doping scandal gets a little personal. Just ahead on LIVE FROM, the ex-husband of the U.S. Olympic athlete Marion Jones makes some big accusations. We'll check it out on LIVE FROM. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired July 23, 2004 - 13:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening in the news right now. Pulling into home port, Nancy Reagan flown in by helicopter as the carrier named for her late husband entered San Diego Harbor after its first trip.
CNN's Miguel Marquez reports live from the scene about 30 minutes from now. We'll bring you that.

Possible terror target in Boston. The FBI warns a group here in the U.S. may be planning to attack media vehicles during next week's Democratic convention. We'll have a full report from CNN's Bob Franken on that one at the bottom of the hour.

Sentencing day for a key figure in the Martha Stewart case. No prison time, but a $2,000 fine for Douglas Faneuil. Faneuil was the Merrill Lynch employee who gave Stewart a tip about ImClone's stock, and later testified against her.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The tireless search continues today for a missing Utah woman, while new reports surface about her husband.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is following the developments now in Salt Lake City and joins us live.

Hi, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Dozens of volunteers are out again today, looking for Lori Hacking, the 27-year-old woman that just found out she was pregnant last week. Has been missing since Monday morning, when her husband called police and said that she was missing.

Earlier today, family members joined together for a joint news conference here at the volunteer center in Salt Lake City. They remain unified behind the search effort, hoping that people will continue to look for Lori despite the latest rumors in the case, and the latest facts as well. Salt Lake City Police have confirmed that the husband, Mark Hacking, purchased a brand new mattress on Monday morning just before he called in to tell police that his wife was missing. They also acknowledged that they were called to the scene of a hotel, what they refer to as an incident outside a Salt Lake City hotel on Monday night, where police say they were called to a scene, and they say that when they got there, Mark Hacking was there. And at that point, he was given psychiatric care. They asked for medical help.

Despite the latest revelations, the family says they believe in Mark Hacking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGLAS HACKING, MARK HACKING'S FATHER: I confronted my son yesterday morning. I looked him in the eye, and I said, I need you to tell me if you had anything to do with Lori's disappearance, and I know you're getting anxious, but I have to tell you that he looked me in the eye, and he said no. So -- and I know a lot of you will say, well, you know, who can believe that? But I want you to at least to know that much of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: That, of course, is mark's father. The family says they're very well aware of the situation, and they're acknowledging that the deception that Mark had played out, not only against his wife, but against his entire family over the past few years is troubling. However, they say that they are staying -- they're sticking behind him.

For the past two years, Mark Hacking has basically played out a charade, that he was going to school here in Utah. He says that he graduated. Everybody thought he graduated. They even had a ceremony for it, where he claimed he was too sick to attend, so family was here. They didn't go to that. He was then going to go to medical school. All of that turned out to be a complete lie. It is concerning, of course, for family members, but they say they want to continue looking for Lori, and they say whatever you think about Mark, the most important thing is to try to find this missing woman, Lori Hacking.

PHILLIPS: Ted, just real quickly, Where is mark now?

ROWLANDS: He is still being given psychiatric care at a medical facility here in Salt Lake City. His family really didn't have an answer when asked if he wanted to leave the facility, could he. They said that they really haven't broached that subject. It sounds like he is getting some fairly intense medical treatment. The family says he is being given some different drugs.

Also the police say they had been able to talk to Mark whenever they've had questions. So detectives have been constantly talking to him throughout the week.

PHILLIPS: Ted Rowlands, live from Salt Lake, thanks so much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Well, there's no doubt casual Fridays are a big hit with workers. And now the argument to ditch traditional garb the rest of the workweek just got a little bit stronger.

Our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We talk a lot about casual Fridays, and now there may be a health benefit of dressing down on this day.

The American Council on exercise wanted to take a look to see if, in fact, you're any healthier if you dressed down on Fridays. And what they found in a very small study was this. Take a look. Office clothes, you typically walked around 6,200 steps per day. Not bad, but if you wore casual clothing, almost 6,700 steps per day. Now, what that translates to is about 25 calories per day, which may not sound like a lot, but in the end, at the end of the year, you actually lose about one pound and three quarters, which is typically the amount an American gains if they do nothing else. So you can offset all those gains by simply dressing down on Fridays. At least that's what the result of this small study.

Now the theory is, a couple of things. One is shoes, for example, if you're wearing more casual shoes, you'd be more likely to actually walk around a little bit, as opposed to high heels for women, for example.

Also a little bit more generally speaking, looser, restrictive clothing, you may be more likely to get up and walk around. You also may be more likely to visit the gym, as well. Of course, there are always things we can do to try and cut down a little bit of weight every day. Wear a pedometer. If you wear a pedometer, you're more likely to actually walk more. That's what studies have shown.

Also, get up instead of e-mailing or using the phone. Actually visit some of your coworkers from time to time. And finally, do a walking meeting. If you have some headsets or something like that in your office, you can actually walk around on the meeting.

Bottom line, a shirt like this instead of a shirt with a tie might make you a little bit healthier at the end of the year.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: All right, Jesse James versus the government. Jesse James Hardy that is. He owns some swamp land in the Everglades and the government wants it. Who is going to win that fight. The story coming up.

PHILLIPS: And these must be tourists in New York. When was the last time you saw seven New Yorkers voluntarily get this close? But what in the world are they doing?

It's a Jeanne Moos report, of course.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: It's a tie. Despite intense campaigning by President Bush and Senator John Kerry, and with less than four months to go until voters cast their ballots, the latest polls we have show the presidential election too close to call. But of course there are some subtleties in those numbers that we mere mortals might not grasp, which means it is time to turn to super pundit, Bill Schneider, who is on Causeway Street there in Boston.

How are you, Mr. Schneider?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. ANALYST: That's right. I'm fine, I'm here in Boston. People are gathering, your old hometown.

O'BRIEN: My old hometown. You got to get down to the No Name and get some chowder before you're out of there.

SCHNEIDER: Well, of course.

O'BRIEN: Before we get on to that important stuff, let's talk politics, shall we?

SCHNEIDER: OK.

O'BRIEN: Let's go with the first number. And this is the basic, the likely voters' choice for president going in to the Democratic Convention, 49 percent Kerry, 47 percent Bush. We'll call that with a sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 points, that's a dead-even tie. Put that in some perspective. Obviously Kerry and Edwards will get their bounce coming into next week, right?

SCHNEIDER: That's right. They expect to come out of this convention doing a little better than that, possibly even, let us say, 17 points ahead. Now why is that a magic number? That is the lead that Michael Dukakis, the last Massachusetts Democrat to be nominated for president in 1988, he came out of Atlanta with a 17-point lead, and he blew it. So the point is, there is no such thing as a safe lead in this game.

O'BRIEN: That is a fact. That is a fact.

Let's look at the next one. This is a good one to talk about. The impact that Ralph Nader might or might not have in November. And it's interesting, he takes a point away from Bush and two points away from Kerry. What do you think about that? Is he really going to be the spoiler that many have said he will be?

SCHNEIDER: Well, he's already been the spoiler, and he did that in 2000 when, you know, a vote for Nader turned out to be a vote for Bush. Every time Kerry talks about Ralph Nader, he says you know what, a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush, and our poll shows, yes, he's taking more votes from Kerry than Bush. Therefore, we expect his vote to go down. He got 2.5 percent last time. I don't think he'll crack 2 percent this time.

Does that mean he won't make a difference? Well in, some of those excruciatingly tight states, like maybe Florida, or this time Ohio, if he's on the ballot in those states, yes, he could still make a difference. O'BRIEN: I'm still trying to figure out who the bush supporters are, even if it's only 1 percent who are going for Nader, that's an interesting mix of politics. Let's go to the next slate. This is an interesting one. And this is the one that the real insiders look at very closely. As to whether they have their mind made up; 83 percent say their mind is made up. No point sending them any campaign literature or ads for them, but there's 13 percent, which is where the election is decided, right?

SCHNEIDER: Yes. The election is decided right there with those people who say they could change their minds. By the way, that 13 percent is half the number of voters who said they could change their minds four years ago. It was 25 percent at this point. Now it's just 13.

Who are they? Well, Miles, have a list. I have their names and addresses. I intend to call them up and find out what's on their minds, and I'll share this with our viewers, but right now, all I can tell you is this -- 62 percent of the voter who's say they could change their minds are women. Well, you know, women always have the right to change their minds. We know that.

O'BRIEN: Oh, careful. You're getting on very thin ice there in Boston. I'm not going to even probe it any further at this point.

Bill Schneider, thank you very much for joining us from Boston, and we will check in with you frequently in the run-up to the convention -- Kyra.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

PHILLIPS: In the Florida Everglades, a man named Jesse James Hardy is battling to keep his swamp land home. The state wants Hardy to give up its land for a multibillion dollar restoration project.

CNN's John Zarrella reports, Hardy's fight has made him into a bit of a folk hero.

(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)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a bicycle built for seven. Have you seen it? The story on this contraption straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hey, we switched the music. All right, a virtual lock on the sixth Tour De France win, American Lance Armstrong took it easy today. The 18th stage of the race comes after three grueling days in the Alps where Armstrong won three days in a row. Now Spain's Juan Miguel Mercado sprinted to victory winning today's leg of the three- week race. Armstrong crossed the finish line more than 11 minutes later, but the 32-year-old Texan still holds a commanding overall lead. There are just two remaining stages before the race ends Sunday in Paris. Miles is going to be there.

O'BRIEN: Wouldn't that be nice.

There's one bike that I'm not sure is allowed on the tour. Matter of fact, we can say fairly categorically it's not. It's a bicycle built for seven, and CNN's Jeanne Moos found it where else, Times Square.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You won't see this bike at the Tour de France.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it, sir? What is it?

MOOS: This bike seats seven. And if that doesn't make you wonder, wonder woman in drag might.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, ladies.

MOOS: The seven-seat bike is turning heads in Times Square. Even Spider-Man's head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah! Hold on tight, guys! Whoo!

MOOS: There are about a dozen of these seven-seaters in this country. The ones in Times Square cater to tourists.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love it! This is awesome!

MOOS: One person steers, all seven pedal. The inventor is an American artist living in Amsterdam. Eric Stoler (ph) is known for creations he calls urban UFOs, like the Light Mobile, a Volkswagen Bug with computerized light patterns, and the Bubble Heads, wearing Plexiglas spheres. And even a Bubble Boat, with its top made out of a grain silo. It sort of makes a seven-seat bike seem tame.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the SUV of bicycles.

MOOS: Owner Don Dimiti (ph) paid $16,000 for what's called the Conference Bike, and hopes to acquire a fleet of 10.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got hydraulic brakes down below it...

MOOS: It's got what's called a universal joint, one gear, front- wheel steering.

(on camera): Have you taken out any pedestrians ever?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only the ones I didn't like.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Watch out, girl.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get over yourself, buddy.

MOOS (voice-over): Despite a couple of close calls...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, sorry about that. Are you all right?

MOOS: ... Paul Creshi (ph) says he's never had an accident.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were going to hit that guy.

MOOS (on camera): You feel the bump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, you do. MOOS (voice-over): Almost as eye-catching as the bike...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh. Make some noise.

MOOS: ... is a driver in drag named Sybil (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pedal forward, honey. Forward.

MOOS: On a bicycle built for seven, you can even powder your nose...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's better than the naked cowboy.

MOOS: ... though we recommend against riding the seven-seat bike naked.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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O'BRIEN: The Olympic doping scandal gets a little personal. Just ahead on LIVE FROM, the ex-husband of the U.S. Olympic athlete Marion Jones makes some big accusations. We'll check it out on LIVE FROM. Please stay with us.

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