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 of 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 t

i met priya david clemens. 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