though it couldn't be proven that alexander caused the flooding, we later confirmed that he had a reputation at holman. >> word had spread around and gotten back to me that andrew was actually probably one of their more violent and notorious inmates. >> when we finally met alexander in person, we discovered he once had a notorious reputation outside of prison as well. his crimes had occurred more than two decades later when he was known as i-10 bandits. >> we might strike in texas. then the next time they see us, we were in florida the next day. we never got off the highway. >> alexander estimates he and his cousin logged almost 60 robberies in 6 states. and the target was always the same. >> we were just robbing hotels. we weren't robbing nothing but hotels. we would try to go to hotels on the weekend before they go to the bank and make bank drops. now these days they got the credit cards and stuff. this is back in the '80s. more cash was being used than it is today. >> how much money did you make? >> a lot. we blew it as soon as we made it. i wasn't the type of robber where you might see where i was down and dirty or nothing like that. i wore nice clothes. i

alexander, good morning. >> reporter: good to visit with you right now. you were just noting that fog at joint base andrewsthe president was boarding air force one trying to understand what's taking place behind the scenes in these fiscal talks, trying to kind of see through that dense fog. it does prove some charges. today the president in his latest pr offensive as you noted will go to detroit. this, of course, is a place where he will expect to get a warm welcome for effectively saving the auto industry. he will be at daimler's plant in the community of redford just outside of detroit. today they're going to announce some plans, the investment of more than $100 million in new technology among other things. they say their recent successes will help provide them new jobs going forward. but it's as much about the economy as it is about what the president says needs to happen with house republicans going forward to keep this economy on track. again, he's going to make the point that the tax rates need to go up for the top 2% of americans. trying to put that pressure, again, on republicans. just a couple day

andrew ross sorkin along with joe kernen. becky quick is off today. our best host this hour, alexander ladenthal.ve a lot to cover with her this morning. here we are, christmas eve. it's a shortened trading session for christmas eve. u.s. equity markets will close at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. bond currency and commodity trading they're going to end early. in japan, indonesia, the philippines, they were all closed in europe. only the uk, french, dutch and spanish stock markets are open and they're going to be closing early. there are now only five trading sessions left in 2012. get your act together. stocks and bonds, solid gains so far this year. the dow has advanced 8% in total. the s&p 500 up almost 14%. the nasdaq has jumped 16%. it's been a good year. the end of the year also means we are just days away from the fiscal cliff, however, and that's the bad news. and looming tax hikes, spending cuts, all of that. both sides warning a very big deal becoming a bit more unlikely. >> and my one bit of advice to speaker boehner is this. you cannot pass a bill with just republicans. on a broad thing like

alexander. dr. joshua sharfstein. we are also fortunate to have dr. andrew allison. gary cohen, we will begin with you. five minutes for your opening statement. >> thank you. for having me here today to speak about implementation. i have the privilege of serving as the director for insurance oversight for medicare and medicaid services. i oversee many of the provisions of the affordable care at that are working to ensure more americans have access to affordable, quality health insurance. i am confident states and the federal government will be ready in 10 months when consumers will begin to comply private health insurance through the exchange. whether a state chooses to run its own exchange, consumers and small employers in every state will be able to shop for, select, and enroll in high- quality, affordable health insurance beginning oct., 2013. many families will have health care, health insurance for the first time. many people who lost their insurance will have the inch -- assurance of knowing it will be met. states that want to move forward are moving forward. on monday, we announced six states ha