york's kennedy, atlanta, l.a.x. and newark, new jersey.espite the cancellations, more than three million took to the skies since christmas eve. >> there is a lot of pent-up demand. people haven't seen their families and friends for two years. we're seeing a record number of passengers coming through since post-pandemic numbers. >> reporter: the cruise industry is also facing cofidis reputations. at least three cruise outlines had outbreaks on board in less than a week with dozens of passengers testing positive and forced to quarantine. >> they were cleaning and everything was sanitizing. i think personally they had too many people on board. >> reporter: travel blogger austin hamaway was on the mss seashore. he and his friends fell ill at sea. >> really affected me the most not being able to see my family at christmas. >> reporter: more cancellations are expected on domestic and also international flights, adding to the frustration and anxiety for flyers where the fast-spreading omicron variant is the difficulty to social distance. one pass

we didn't expect to see passengers come back the way they did. >> reporter: at l.a.x.les, united airlines sees a stark contrast to just nine months or even a year ago. >> we are back up to 120-plus flights. >> reporter: but covid remains top of mind for many people traveling to see family and friends. >> on the plane itself, it's really quite safe, particularly if you're vaccinated and boosted. but in other settings, it may not be so safe. >> reporter: meanwhile, this morning more pressure on the cell phone industry to delay the rollout of 5g technology next month after airplane giants boeing and airbus issued a rare call for the industry to postpone the rollout warning 5g could interfere with cockpit technology. the cell phone industry says there's no reason to delay the rollout telling nbc news "5g networks operate safely without interference in nearly 40 countries around the world, and it will be no different here." pilot organizations, airlines, and members of congress share the concern that 5g can interfere with the plane' altimeters. >> if you're coming down in z

>> reporter: yeah, katy, i'm at l.a.x., part of the travel nightmare that so many passengers are going through and part of that is because the new variant which is spiking here in california and it is specifically in los angeles county. to help mitigate that, the airport is set up as you see, testing center right here. it is been going on for quite sometime. but theres have v been more people day by day as the demand for testing becomes greater. one gentleman said he waited for about an hour, almost had to miss his flight because so many people were in line. but they need this because, again, the testing is so great. the need is so great. and that is because the cases again are spiking up 200% over the last 14 days as far as the case count goes, the hospitalizations now starting to grow as well. 25% over december 20th, 43% when you're looking specifically again just at l.a. county. so people want to know their status, especially if their heading anywhere, either out of the country to hawaii, which requires testing or just to see friends and family for their holiday plans. which has bee

>> i'm liliana luciano at l.a.x.ith some of the highest numbers of holiday flight cancellations. >> yuccas: plus, the virus forces worshipers online for christmas services. >> i'm elise preston in new york, where many are disappointed they can't celebrate the holiday together. >> yuccas: at the vatican, pope francis prays for healing and peace. also tonight: the queen's speech. britain's 95-year-old monarch reflects on a year of loss for her family and so many others. >> i wish you all a very happy christmas. >> and we have engine start. >> yuccas: plus, up, up and away, the james webb telescope blasts off on a mission to reveal the beginnings of the universe. >> whoo! >> yuccas: and later, a teaching tree. >> the tree is a teaching moment. >> yuccas: this bright symbol of christmas bringing healing light to a family and community during dark times. ing light to a sys this is the "cbs weekend news." . >> yuccas: good evening, i'm jamie yuccas in new york, adriana diaz is off. today, christians around the world are ce

look at the line at l.a.x. this weekend. people are on the move. we still don't see prepan numbers -- prepandemic numbers and people do have covid on their mind in california. health officials are recommending that people get a covid test three to five days after arriving in the state. but some are feeling safer now than they have during the pandemic and seeing relatives for the first time since covid hit. >> i went to new york for a four-day weekend to see my 91-year-old mother who i hadn't seen for two years because of covid. got home and came out this weekend to san francisco to see my 92-year-old godmother. reporter: more americans are expected to drive than fly this holiday. but airports are expected to be very busy. those in the travel industry are expecting to see numbers to be at about 90% of prepandemic levels. they do think this thursday and then the monday after january 3 will be the busiest days. amy hollyfield, abc 7 news. reggie: people in oakland would need to show proof of covid vaccination at restaurants, bars, gyms and other indoo

. >> reporter: at l.a.x., tr travelers can test at the airport. some even getting a booster before they board. >> like to be sure you're good, good to go, protect yourself and then safety for everybody next. >> and carter evans joins us from los angeles international airport. carter, there is new calls tonight to change the rules when it comes to isolating if you're fully vaccinated. >> yes, these calls come from airlines and flight attendants. they're asking the cdc to cut that isolation period in half for breakthrough cases from ten days to five. with omicron spreading so rapidly, they're concerned about staff shortages that could impact operations. by the way, the cdc just reduced the isolation time for health care workers to seven days, as long as they meet certain conditions. jamie? >> wow. carter, thank you. the "cbs overnight news" will be right back. sweet pillows of softness! this is soft! holy charmin! excuse me! roll it back everybody! charmin ultra soft is so cushiony soft, you'll want more! but it's so absorbent, you can use less. enj

. >> since you brought up the airlines, let me go to steve because he is at l.a.x and we are continuing to see flight cancellations, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds a day, what's going on where you are, steve? >> reporter: chris, it could be another headache inducing day for travelers, 69 flights delayed here at l.a.x., 75 cancelled. we had 1,100 flights across the country cancelled yesterday alone. we could be getting a little break today here in california because we've finally gotten a break in that bad weather. but, again, the trend seemed to be over 100 once again. and of course the virus doing nothing but helping the delays, the cancellations, the disruptions in flight because cases are surging in california. now up 200% as far as daily case counts, up 25% as far as hospitalizations. it's part of the reasons why we're outside. the airline is doing really well. and testing as well, that crush of testing. the airport officials help to mitigate that by offering, as you see behind me, testing here as well. the lines have been filling up day by day but the craziest case of testing w

going out of the l.a.x.ch about 70. it's going up every single hour across the country. we're looking at about 700 flights that have been canceled. if you think about it, you were just talking about the ripple effects that's going on, and it's going to be happening in the healthcare industry. you're also looking at that happening here at the airport. with 200,000 people testing positive for covid-19 every single day, you've also got to consider that pilots will be getting sick, flight attendants will be getting sick. not just them. if their families get sick or they come in contact, then they are going to have to look at the possibility of being isolated until they can get tested, until they can get cleared to go back to work. as that all comes down to the wire on a very busy travel season, it's going to make problems happen all the way down the pipeline. one of the things we're looking at here is a baggage claim -- we're looking at people across the board, and you've got to also consider this is the busiest

. >> reporter: meanwhile, among the busiest big airports today, l.a.x., 8:00 a.m. and dallas at 10:00 a.m. across the country, many airports are reporting pandemic record-breaking traffic, even all-time records. the rebound really came on us up expectedly. we didn't expect to see passengers come back the way they did. >> reporter: at l.a.x. and los angeles, united airlines sees a stark contrast to just nine months or even a year ago. >> we are back up to 120 plus flights. >> reporter: but covid remains top of mind for many people traveling to see family and friends. >> on the plane itself, it's really quite safe, particularly if you're vaccinated and boosted. but in other settings, it may not be so safe. >> reporter: meanwhile this morning, more pressure on the cell phone industry twob delay the rollout of 5g technology next month, after airplane giants boeing and airbus issued a rare joint call for the government and cell phone industry to postpone the rollout. warning 5g could intervene with critical cockpit technology. the cell phone industry says there's no rea

>> i'm liliana luciano at l.a.x.ith some of the highest numbers of holiday flight cancellations. >> yuccas: plus, the virus forces worshipers online for christmas services. >> i'm elise preston in new york, where many are disappointed they can't celebrate the holiday together. >> yuccas: at the vatican, pope francis prays for healing and peace. also tonight: the queen's speech. britain's 95-year-old monarch reflects on a year of loss for her family and so many others. >> i wish you all a very happy

vaccination at many business and offering international travelers a free rapid covid test upon landing at l.a.x. >> i think it's a very good measure. and that's why i did it immediately. >> reporter: the omicron variant found in at least a dozen states keeps spreading. but the delta strain remains dominant, with new infections nationwide rising 36%. hospitalizations are also increasing. among the hardest hit states, rhode island, connecticut, and delaware, worrying doctors nationwide. >> it's still a large curve going in the wrong direction. i had a patient today die. i recommended the vaccine for him multiple times. and he, unfortunately, got covid, was unvaccinated. >> reporter: nearly a third of the country has yet to get a single dose as officials brace for a winter surge. in some places, omicron is spreading twice as fast as other variants, but health officials are urging people not to panic, just to get a booster. are you concerned omicron might impact your holiday travel or your holiday plans? >> i don't think so. i think we're well vaccinated. we just have to negotiate the-- the new hur

zohreen shah at l.a.x. tonight. >> reporter: tonight, that frightening mid-air confrontation. passenger accused of assaulting a flight attendant and then an air marshal. >> please! help! >> reporter: the passenger then restrained in a seat. the delta flight from washington, d.c., diverting to oklahoma city. police taking 35-year-old ariel pennington into custody. booking him on disorderly conduct and public drunkenness charges. one passenger telling abc pennington had refused to wear a mask. the flight eventually reaching its destination here in los angeles. >> he was pretty much, like, yelling that people were trying to tell him what to do. >> reporter: there have been more than 5,500 cases just this year of unruly passengers, the most if faa's history. >> it's scary to experience something like that, especially being however many thousand feet in the air and not knowing what to do. >> reporter: pennington could face federal charges, and the fbi is now investigating. david. >> zohreen shah tonight. zohreen, thank you. >>> we turn next to the horrific accident in southern mexi

. >> reporter: at l.a.x., travelers tested the airport, some getting a booster before they board. >>good to go and safety for everybody. >> yuccas: carter evans joins us now from los angeles international airport. carter, there are new calls tonight to change the rules for isolating if you're fully vaccinated. >> reporter: yes, and these calls come from airlines and flight attendants. they're asking the c.d.c. to cut that isolation period in half for breakthrough cases from 10 days to five. with omicron spreading so rapidly, they're concerned about staff shortages that could impact operations. by the way, the c.d.c. just reduced the isolation time for healthcare workers to seven days, as long as they meet certain conditions. jamie. >> yuccas: wow. carter, thank you. tonight we continue our special series on "the war on cancer: 50 years." i took a look at the emotional impact hair loss can are have on both women and men during their cancer treatment and the procedure that helps prevent it from happening in most patients. ♪ ♪ ♪ when alana's doctor discovered a lump in her breast, she w

the hardest hit airports -- newark, atlanta, and l.a.x.ng hundreds of flights over christmas weekend. >> flew to l.a.x., and then as soon as we got here, we found out our flight was canceled. >> reporter: this morning, experts predicting more disruptions are on the horizon. >> if you schedule more airplanes than you have pilots for, it's a recipe for disappointment on all sides. >> reporter: and many airlines are now offering bonus pay for employees to cover some of those extra shifts to avoid these cancellations. mary? >> erielle, thank you. >>> and of course, it's not just airlines that are feeling the strain from surging covid cases. more essential workers calling out over the holiday as omicron spreads. we're seeing a striking increase in children being hospitalized with covid. concerning news for us parents. trevor ault is live at a testing center here in new york. trevor, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, mary. omicron really just continues to gain steam here and infections are skyrocketing in much of the country, but we're st

. >> reporter: at l.a.x. covid testing sites like these are a sign of the times. dr. anthony fauci saying today, if you're vaccinated and boosted you should feel comfortable flying and celebrating with family. >> when you're in an airport, to be wearing a mask all the time. you have to be wearing a mask on a plane. do not do things like go to gatherings where there are people who you do not know what their vaccination status is. >> reporter: the cdc is offering at-home testing kits at select airports around the country for international travelers. if you're connecting with folks from around the country, they recommend getting tested in advance. and if you plan on gathering indoors, they suggest cracking a window to improve air circulation. cecilia? >> zachary, thank you. >>> with millions of americans traveling, let's get right to rob marciano. rob, tell me you've got some good news for us. >> reporter: we do have some good news. at least for the eastern two-thirds of the country. relatively quiet weather pattern shaping up. the cold air has moved in. the southeast an

let's go to steve patterson at l.a.x.irport as he's been all week with the latest. >> the misery continues. we saw more than 1,000 cancellations yesterday. we are already over 1,000 today. and that number is expected to rise, certainly better than the thousands we saw day by day earlier this week. but again, there is no relief in sight. obviously the weather is not helping. with he have more snow overnight, specifically in washington state. already in a state of emergency there. sea-tac already thought to be the worst airport in the world right now for air travel. just that little bit worse. bags are strewn across the airport looking for their owners. there are customer service issues, alaska airlines is based there. they're reporting customer service delays of up to 20,000s. they're thinning out flights by about 20% just so they can de-ice some of the planes and because of the surging variant hitting all of these airlines, united and delta announcing more cancellations and flight vouchers. and jetblue announcing the canc

." >>> here's a live look at l.a.x.and maybe you are planning to catch an international flight from there. starting today a new rapid testing site opens offered on a voluntary basis because there's no federal requirement for outbound passengers. >>> for now lawmakers averted a government shutdown, but some republicans object to vaccine mandates. this all comes with president biden focusing on the u.s. economy and the soon-to-be released monthly unemployment report. >> laura, that jobs report is due out in less than half an hour and president biden is set to speak a couple hours after that. yes, you also note there was a fight over the temporary funding measure last night to do with vaccine mandates, and republicans, those that oppose the vaccine mandates will get another crack to shoot them down with a bill next week. those that support the mandate say they are needed to fight rising covid cases. >> good news for federal workers this morning. their paychecks are secure with a government shutdown averted. >> i am glad in

especially coming home to grandparents and family >> meanwhile, among the busiest airports today, l.a.x. 8:00 a.m. and dallas at 10:00 a.m. across the country, many airports are reporting pandemic record breaking traffic, even all time records >> the rebound really came on unexpectedly we didn't expect to see passengers come back the way they did >> at l.a.x. and los angeles, united airlines sees a stark contrast to nine months or even a year ago >> we are back up to 120 plus flights. >> but covid remains top of mind for many people traveling to see family and friends >> on the plane itself, it's really quite safe. particularly if you're vaccinated and boosted but in other settings, it may not be so safe >> meanwhile, this morning, more pressure on the cell phone industry to delay the rollout of 5g technology next month after airplane giants boeing and airbus issued a rare joint call for the government and cell phone industry to postpone the rollout, warning 5g coul interfere with critical cockpit technology the cell phone industry says there's no reason to delay the rollout, telling nb

>> steve patterson at l.a.x. thank you. we want to bring in jeff ranieri for the holiday weekend for al jeff, good morning >> good morning, you all we have you covered when it comes to the delays. right now on the map we have heavy rain in los angeles and strong storms moving through atlanta. by tomorrow the threat shifts towards phoenix with major delays and we'll also see the east coast beginning to see some more in towards atlanta. by saturday's forecast, we've got major delays from chicago to denver, 3 to 7 inches of snow. and more storms developing through the southeast. that's a look at your national forecast your local weather coming up in seconds. ♪ ♪ now, get new lower auto rates with allstate. because better protection costs a whole lot less. you're in good hands with allstate. click or call for a lower auto rate today. >>> 44 degrees in san jose, cloudy. we are getting a break from the rain here in northern california. however, southern california really getting some heavy rain. i know a lot of commuters are trav

. >> from l.a.x. to atlanta hartsfield, america's airports are jam-packed, some passengers worried about take together skies about the omicron variant surge. >> i don't like the fact that the planes are all full. it was squashed down and came out here from california squashed in and anticipate the same thing going home. >> with some 20 million people estimated to be flying here this holiday season in the u.s. health experts are urging passengers to take new measures to prevent from getting the omicron variant. >> stay away from people you don't know, strangers. >> are surgical masks still the best ones to wear on planes? >> the entire flying experience requires protection are and using k-95 and n-95s is the gold standard right now that people should be considering and investing in. >> experts individuals us to use layers of protection on flights, not just masks but face shields, too, especially on longer flights. given the higher transmissibility of the omicron variant, should passengers avoid taking

. >> reporter: from l.a.x. to atlanta's hartsfield, america's airports are jampacked.ome passengers worried about daking to the skies during the omicron variant surge. >> i don't like the fact the planes are all full. we're squashed. when i came from california squashed then, and i anticipate the same thing going home. >> reporter: with some 20 million people estimated to be flying this holiday season in the u.s., health experts are urging passengers to take new precautions to avoid contracting the omicron variant. >> it's all about staying away from people you don't know, strangers. you don't know whether they've got the virus or not. >> reporter: are surgical masks still the best ones to wear on planes? >> the entire flying experience requires protection and using k-95s and n-95s is the gold standard now people should be considering and investing in. >> reporter: experts advise us to use layers of protection on flights, not just masks, but face shields, too, especially on longer flights. given the higher transmissibility of the omicron variant, should passengers avoi

abc's zohreen shah is live at l.a.x. this morning. zohreen, good morning to you. those cancellations already making travel tricky for so many. >> reporter: hey, good morning, janai. yeah, traveling during the holidays is never easy, but it's especially hard this year. across the country, over 600 flights canceled today, and all of this comes after 1,600 flights were canceled on christmas eve and christmas day. all this creating major havoc across airports. delta, jetblue, and united all canceling around 100 flights at this hour. you can see this video of stranded travelers in south florida, and the same scene playing out across the country especially in big hubs like newark airport. so what is the reason behind many of these cancellations? well, major airlines are reporting omicron impacts. american airlines saying their operation has been running smoothly, but unfortunately a number of covid-related sick calls led to pre-canceling some flights. delta says a number of issues including weather in some areas of the country and the omicron variant are driving cancell

president's actions yesterday, we're scaling up rapid testing in our international airports as we speak, in l.a.xanta, newark, jfk, to make sure that we have rapid and pcr tests available for our international travellers so they could come in and do tests, three to five days even if they don't have symptoms after they arrive. we're doing a lot of testing in -- in arcada 12 communities and we're scaling up the rapid tests that will be available in our -- in lower income settings and in more vulnerable communities so those rapid tests will be free. we have rapid tests that are now going to be available that could berefunded from your insurance company. so we're doing more in our pcr and our rapid testing. >> and i think as we're going into the cooler dryer months, still have questions about testing. who should be getting tested and how often should people be getting tested, what kind of tests should they be using? >> you know, i think that this is -- the whole point is to have accessible, affordable tests tor when you need or want one and that is exactly what all of the scale up has been about. cer

from l.a.x. to hartsfield, american's airports are jam packed.e skies during the omicron variant surge. >> i don't like the fact that the planes are all full. we're squashed in when i came out here from california, squashed in and i anticipate the same thing going home. >> reporter: with some 20 million people estimated to be flying this holiday season in the u.s., health experts are urging passengers to take new precautions to avoid contracting the omicron variant. >> it is all about staying away from people you don't know. strangers, you don't know whether they have the virus or not. >> reporter: are surgical masks still the best ones to wear on planes? >> the entire flying experience requires know protection and using k-95s is the golden standrd that people should be investing. >> reporter: experts advise us to use layers of protections, not just masks but face shields too, especially on longer flights. given the higher transmissibility of the omicron variant, should passengers avoid taking masks off completely? even to eat or drink during a f

. >> katy, i know you know how busy l.a.x. is and frankly how much of a headache it can be. omicron doing absolutely nothing to disrupt holiday travel. 3.5 million travelers expected between now and early january. 200,000 on those busiest days. so new year's day, the day after christmas. take a look, mitigation happening right behind me. you can see this is where a pop-up vaccination site has just sprung up here, probably about five minutes ago. you can already see the line now backing all the way up to the coffee bean. they have a waiting area for people that have just gotten the shots. then the shots happening all the way to my left. these shots come in any flavor you want. johnson & johnson, moderna, pfizer, juvenile pfizer. no excuses is the strategy from the county health department, putting this on in combination with the local pharmacy here, trying to get as many shots as possible as people come in. that's the mitigation strategy. l.a. county significantly jumping up in number of cases, 3,200 a day, that's quite a spike from what we've seen in weeks previous. omicron

. >> reporter: meanwhile, among the busiest big airports today, l.a.x., 8:00 a.m. back the way they did. >> reporter: at l.a.x., united airlines sees a stark contrast to just nine months a year ago. >> we are back up to 120-plus flights. >> reporter: but covid remains top of mind for many traveling to see family and friends. >> on the plane itself, it's really quite safe, particularly if you're vaccinated and boosted. but in other settings it may not be so safe. >> reporter: meanwhile, this morning, more pressure on the cell phone industry, to delay the rollout of 5g technology next after airline giants boeing and airbus issued a joint call for the industry to postpone the rollout. warning 5g could interfere with critical cockpit technology. saying there's no reason to roll it out, that 5g operates safely without interference in nearly 40 countries around the world and it will be no different here. but pilot organizations, airlines and members of congress share the concern that 5g can interfere with the plane's altimeters. >> if you're coming down in zero visibilit

our zohreen shah joins us from l.a.x. with this story.ohreen, good morning. >> reporter: hey, good morning, t.j. we're approaching the busiest time of the year, about 2.2 million travelers expected every single day around christmas and now another alleged assault on a plane. this morning, another in-flight disturbance. a delta flight headed to los angeles diverted to oklahoma city after a combative passenger allegedly assaulted a flight attendant and the air marshal who intervened. >> help. >> the gentleman's tone and voice was raised and the flight crew kept on coming back and forth to ask him to wear a mask. >> reporter: sam jamal was sitting behind the passenger and said the conflict started about an hour into the flight. >> it was over time. it became physical, a lot of it was mostly one end verbal on his end of just being upset about the situation, you know, not wanting to wear the mask but just generally upset and i think he clearly seems to have had a few drinks. he, you know, pushed back at the guy and that's when really saw the a

. >> i even looked on flight aware about what alaska and delta were doing from seattle to l.a.x.hern california airport, all of the flights were canceled. not even delayed. >> reporter: jetblue also gripping with problems. the airline proactively reducing their schedule through january 13th citing in a statement rising covid cases in the northeast where most of our crew members are based. >> it's not easy on us either and we really want to make the operation work. people are trying really hard to do that. >> reporter: and right now airlines are canceling flights about 24 hours ahead of time. so check the schedule and rebook if you need to and remember, if your flight is canceled, you can get a refund. it is also sometimes useful to open up the app and check the aircraft on your specific flight. mary and whit? >> good advice, alex, thanks. >>> one thing that won't make travel easier that wicked weather, reported tornadoes in the south and more snow pummeling parts of the west and rob marciano joins us with more. millions will be on alert for that extreme weather through new year's