San Francisco  - Five fishermen were killed and four were rescued after a dramatic shipwreck and rescue operation in freezing waters in Amchitka Pass, which links the Bering Sea to the Pacific Ocean about 2,200 kilometers southwest of Anchorage, the Anchorage Daily News reported Thursday.

Two other crew members were missing.

San Francisco - Undermining widely held views about the divisive effects of the internet and cell phones, a new study claims that the use of modern communications devices is bringing families closer together by effectively turning them into online social networks.

The Pew Internet Report, which was released Sunday, surveyed 2,252 traditional "nuclear families" and found that families compensated for the increased stress of modern life by using cell phone calls, emails, and text messages to stay in touch.

San Francisco - Intel, the world's dominant maker of the microprocessors that run computers, reported record third quarter revenue of 10.2 billion dollars Tuesday.

San Francisco - The world famous Golden Gate Bridge is to get a 50-million-dollar suicide net after bridge bosses ruled that it was more important to save lives than preserve the structure's classic lines.

An average of 20 people commit suicide each year by climbing over the 1.2 metre railing and plunging some 75 metres to the San Francisco Bay below.

Last year 37 people leapt to their death from the 1,280-metre-long span that links San Francisco to Marin County to the north. A further 17 have committed suicide so far this year.

San Francisco - Online commerce giant eBay is to fire 10 per cent of its workforce, or about 1,400 workers, the company said Monday.

The Silicon Valley internet pioneer also announced that it was acquiring online payments firm Bill Me Later for 945 million dollars in cash and stock. eBay will combine the company, which processes online payments for companies like Wal-Mart Stores and Continental Airlines, with its rapidly growing PayPal division.

San Francisco - A planned night out at the Casino turned into deadly mayhem when a bus packed with gamblers crashed on a rural California road Sunday night, killing 10 and injuring dozens more, police said Monday.

The crash occurred near the small town of Williams, about 180 kilometres north of San Francisco after the bus veered off the narrow road and then completely flipped over as it overcorrected.