to those hit hard by the pandemic. the post-holiday travel nightmare. tonight, chaos at airports across the country. thousands of flights cancelled just since christmas eve. passengers left scrambling, now racing to get home. major airlines blaming covid-fueled staffing shortages and poor weather conditions. tonight, that dangerous winter blast. the powerful system slamming the west. in washington, cars getting stuck in whiteout conditions. feet of snow shutting down highways like i-80 in california. tonight, as millions take to the roads for their return home, when is the best time to travel? remembering a legend. archbishop desmond tutu, the nobel prize winner who helped bring an end to apartheid in south africa. the tributes coming in tonight. a deadly christmas day house fire killing a father and two children. authorities point to the lights on their tree as the likely cause. tonight, how to keep your home safe this holiday season. it s also gift return season.
Millions of unvaccinated americans. officials are also seeing a rise in pediatric infections. abc s phil lipoff leads us off tonight from new york. reporter: tonight, health experts warning of an omicron surge on top of a surge after millions finished gathering and celebrating christmas with family and friends. dr. anthony fauci urging americans not to get complacent despite several studies suggesting this new variant might be less severe than delta. every day it goes up and up, and it likely will go much higher. reporter: outside minneapolis, the janovsky family gathering for the first time in two years for christmas. this year is definitely a lot different because we all feel safer because we were all able to get vaccinated and boosted. reporter: but for so many americans this holiday, getting tested has not been easy. at this test distribution site in brooklyn, pushing and shoving led to police being called to manage the crowd. in manhattan, now 1 in 60 people have tested
Courtesy of santa and mrs. claus. that is all of the tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. urgent covid concerns across the country tonight after millions of families gathered for christmas. fears the rapidly spreading omicron variant will fuel a surge on top of a surge. from charlotte to miami, testing lines are growing. pushing and shoving at this test distribution site in brooklyn. dr. anthony fauci today acknowledging the 500 million at-home tests the biden administration promised to send out next month won t arrive soon enough. saying we ve obviously got to do better. health experts now warn of an alarming rise of pediatric hospitalizations in some parts of the country. in new york city, the country s first vaccine mandate for private companies set to take effect. 1 in 60 people living in manhattan testing positive just this week. new outbreaks reported on cruise ships. tonight, the president s message