this is kqed newsroom and i am priya david clemens. we are kicking off tonight with a nuclear tech knowledge he breakthrough which could someday revolutionize energy systems around the globe. although we have made strides toward a clean energy future we still primarily rely on fossil fuels to power our cars, homes, and infrastructure. on tuesday the u.s. department energy announced that the lawrence livermore national lab right here in the bay area made a major step towards eliminating the need for fossil fuels altogether. >> last week at the lawrence livermore national lab in california, scientists at the national ignition facility achieved fusion ignition, and that is creating more energy from fusion reactions and the energy used to start the process. it is the first time it is ever been done in a laboratory anywhere in the world. >> san jose mercury news science and research reporter lisa krieger joins us from lake tahoe where she is on assignment. thanks for popping in for us to help us understand what this is all about. why is thi

hello and welcome to the show this is kqed newsroom. san francisco mail mayor london bridge is been in office for almost five years now. her tenure has been marked by homelessness and crime, problems that are not uncommon throughout the state but are seen very significantly here. she has called for mo hard- line approach to addressing these issues while encouraging compassion. she joins me now. thank you for being here. you have been in office a úlittle more than four years now. you know the city inside and out. >> the good news is we are finally coming out of this pandemic and starting to see our city come back. we have hosted a number of conventions that were a huge success over the past year. we're seeing tourists coming back to our hotels. we are at 60% capacity with our hotels. we were at 80% pre-pandemic, so the starting to look up and businesses are starting to look up again. i'm excited. the energy and the air feels different. of course any major city would have problems. we have real challenges around homelessness, drug use and

this is kqed newsroom. it might be time to start getting your mask out of storage and covering up the bottom half of your face once again. last winchester, we faced the twin pandemic of covid-19 and the flu cases at the same time. this year, doctors say there is a possible triple pandemic of illnesses from covid-19, flu and rsv. the respiratory virus overwhelming children's hospitals. joining us now to discuss the winter surge and how to handle holiday gatherings is dr. peter chen hong, ucsf professor and infectious disease specialist. thank you for being with us. what do you think, should we be getting masks out, wearing them again? >> it is time to bring back the masks. we are not only seeing an increase in cases in the community with covid-19 but past positivity is up and hospitalizations are up more than 100% in the bay area, more than 65% in the state. masks are not only good for covid-19, they are good for our history, they are good for influenza. they are good for lots of viruses that cause the commo

coming to you from kqed headquarters in san franci

. >>> tonight on kqed newsroom, a major scientific breakthrough holds hope for a cleaner and safer planet of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century. >>> we speak with oakland mayor libby schaaf about her time in office and what she has accomplished. >>> plus, we take a look back at our eventful year as 2023 draws near. comi t

.] >>> tonight on kqed newsroom, we speak with san francisco mayor about the state of the city and howand economic veltman in the year ahead. also, we take a look at national politics and the legacy of congress member jackie speier, who is retiring from office. we discussed her long-term in public service, what she is most proud of and what comes next. >>> plus, it is that most wonderful time of the year and li

. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> tonight on kqed newsroom, we speak with san francisco mayor about the state of thekling homelessness, housing and economic veltman in the year ahead. also, we take a look at national politics and the legacy of congress member jackie speier, who is retiring from office. we discussed her long-term in public service, what she is most proud of and what comes next. >>> plus, it is that most wonderful time of the year and holiday ligh