welcome back to all of you watching us here in the united states, canada, and all around the world. i m kim brunhuber. this is cnn newsroom. travelers arriving in the u.s. on monday will face strict new rules that aim to keep the new omicron variant from triggering a new wave of infections. it s already been found in at least 16 states. now all of this as airlines get ready for the busy holiday travel season. many of the new restrictions target passengers from southern africa, where omicron was first detected last month. the country of south africa has seen an enormous surge of covid cases in the past week, more than 16,000 just on saturday. president cyril ramaphosa accused wealthy nations of hoarding vaccines, making it difficult for his country to get enough doses. cnn s larry madowa is in johannesburg. larry, the numbers are concerning, to say the least, but top authorities seem to be trying to stamp down fears here. reporter: that s what they re trying to do, kim, right to
it s not magic that makes more holiday deliveries to homes in the us than anyone else, it s the hardworking people of the united states postal service. president biden is tapping into the strategic petroleum reserve, a new move aimed at tamping down soaring gas prices ahead of a busy holiday travel season. and while our company our combined action will not solve the problem of high gas prices overnight, it will make a difference. it will take time, but before long, you should see the price of gas drop where you fill up your tank. and in the longer term, we will reduce our reliance on oil as we shift to clean energy. let s discuss with democratic congressman ro khanna of california. thanks for joining us. you just heard president biden admit this move will not solve gas prices overnight, as he put
the administration has done to ease those also. charles: thanks, panel. meanwhile, the tsa vaccine mandate goes into effect tomorrow. this as a busy holiday travel season takes off. will staffing issues leave airports backed up? first, president biden tapping jerome powell for a second term. we go deeper to what it means for your wallet next. wow. that s so nice! the gift of ancestry®. is a walk through your history. do you remember who this is? where the more you discover. wow! .the more you come together. i can see. the nose. this holiday, give the gift of family. give the gift of ancestry®.
kate? all right. kelly o donnell with the president, thank you. back in the u.s. it was a chaotic weekend at the nation s airports after american airlines canceled or delayed thousands of flights. today alone fully one-third of the carrier s flights were canceled. some experts worry it could be a sign of trouble to come as we enter the busy holiday travel season. reporter: american airlines in the midst of a travel meltdown this holiday weekend. they delayed it and then said the original time and then canceled it. very aggravating. reporter: from dallas to miami and beyond long lines snaking through terminals. passengers waiting hours to rebook or even speak to an airline agent. the frustrations growing by the second. it said take another flight but they don t have flight available until monday or tuesday. i have to work monday and i have a #9-year-old at home. flying is really stressful and with canceled flights and still trying to figure everything out even more so.
employees, and there are serious consequence for those who don t comply. cnn s pete pete muntean explains. reporter: american airlines has set the deadline for its employees in the united states to get vaccinated as the day before thanksgiving. it s the timing that is so interesting here because the wednesday before thanksgiving is typically the kickoff to the busy holiday travel season. american will not say if that is intentional, but the airline is actually going one step further here than other vaccine mandates. it is requiring that these employees get vaccinated fully by november 24th, meaning somebody who is getting the moderna shot would have to get their first dose on october 27th. clock is ticking for tens of thousands of employees here who just got a sternly worded memo from american airlines that says, to be clear, if you fail to comply with the requirement, the result will be termination from the company. we know that these mandates work on the vaccine hesitant. take unit