The team behind a special University College Cork scholarship set up in honour of an Irish energy engineer who died in a US yachting accident have encouraged people to apply for this year’s award.

“This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen!" - kid.

Alcatraz prison’s reputation as never having a successful escape is being questioned amid new claims from the families of two escapees that the men made it away alive.

Niall Murray and Jack Halpin, two of those injured in the Berkeley balcony collapse, are due to travel home to Ireland next week.

Clodagh Cogley, one of the survivors of the Berkeley balcony collapse, has received an outpouring of public support following her inspiring words about the tragedy which killed six students, injured seven, and left her unable to walk.

Authorities have sealed off all the balconies in the apartment building where six students plunged to their death during a 21st birthday party.

As dawn broke in California, the San Francisco bay area woke up to news of the horrific events that had unfolded in the student city of Berkeley shortly before 1am California time.

USA: Lottery ticket buyers in New Hampshire who dream of bringing home the bacon now can smell it, too.

CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork is to make more of its space, having secured €35,000 in funding from Science Foundation Ireland.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 has been reported in northern California’s San Francisco Bay area, officials said.

It could be you. . .but this time around it’s 44 other lucky Lottery winners who have jetted off to San Francisco for a six-day luxury break.

It is being reported the family of Robin Williams has scattered his ashes in San Francisco Bay.

Police in California have defended their decision to release details about how actor Robin Williams died, saying state law required that they be disclosed to the public.

 DIAMOND DOG COUGHS UP MISSING WEDDING RING 

A single ticket has won a $425m (€309m) Powerball jackpot in the US today.

A man in the San Francisco Bay area of California is appealing for Google Maps to remove an aerial image which shows the body of his 14-year-old son, who was shot dead in 2009.

Google’s mystery barges, which prompted speculation about everything from offshore data centres to floating research labs, may serve a more prosaic role as upscale party venues.

Friends of an Irish energy engineer who died in a yachting accident in San Francisco Bay last year have set up a special college scholarship in his honour.

Skipper Jimmy Spithill insists his Oracle Team USA are still the underdogs despite recording their sixth and seventh straight wins to take the America’s Cup to a decider against Emirates Team New Zealand.

The FBI has rescued 105 young people and arrested 150 alleged pimps in a three-day sweep in 76 US cities.

A protest over George Zimmerman’s acquittal has led to the arrests of 17 people in a southern California town.

A plane packed with more than 300 people slammed into the runway at San Francisco airport and caught fire, forcing many to escape down emergency inflatable slides as flames tore through the Boeing 777.

It remains to be seen if Amazon will succeed where others failed in trying to make selling groceries online profitable, writes Alistair Barr.

America’s Cup regatta director Iain Murray has revealed former Olympic champion Andrew Simpson died after being trapped under his AC72 catamaran when it nosedived during a manoeuvre that required it to change direction.

Royal Yachting Association Olympic manager Stephen Park says the death of Andrew Simpson has been like losing a family member, with the news leaving the British sailing team feeling “broken”.

The classic Chevrolet convertible featured in the film "Pulp Fiction" has been found nearly two decades after it was stolen.

The first crossing of the United States by a solar-powered plane is expected to start in just over a month, its creators said, as they make final preparations for an attempt two years from now at the first round-the-world flight without any fuel.

Hours after a meteor exploded over Russia and injured more than 1,000 people and an asteroid passed relatively close to Earth, people in California reported seeing an unusual flash of light over the San Francisco Bay area that left many startled and thrilled.

Callum Roberts warns we are destroying our seas and need to urgently change our ways. Val Cummins argues that we should heed his warnings

Crowds gathered along San Francisco's waterfront and the bay was crowded with pleasure boats, tugs and other vessels as the city celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Friends of the missing San Francisco yachting tragedy sailors held memorial services in Ireland and the US at the weekend.

The US Coastguard has suspended its search for the missing crew members of a yacht which hit rocks in San Francisco Bay yesterday.

A rescue operation was continuing tonight to recover four sailors who were injured when a large wave crashed on to their yacht during a round-the-world race.

An operation to help four sailors who were injured when a large wave crashed on to their yacht during a round-the-world race has been delayed.

Zany experiments testing scientific theories in real-world settings have earned US TV show 'MythBusters' a devoted following, but a botched stunt encountered an unhappy audience when an errant cannonball smashed through a California family’s bedroom.

OUT in San Francisco Airport, when the All-Star travelling party landed last week, a passer-by clocked the tracksuits and asked Tipperary hurler Lar Corbett who was playing.

Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong says his sagging trousers cost him a seat on a Southwest Airlines flight.

A stolen sketch by Dutch master Rembrandt has been found at a California church, about 20 miles from the luxury hotel lobby it was snatched from over the weekend, authorities have said.

Working with James ‘Whitey’ Bulger only ever ended one way, reports RYLE DWYER

When US President Barack Obama arrives at Facebook headquarters this week, he will be the first sitting head of state to visit the brick-and-mortar home of the social media powerhouse.

A CALIFORNIA high-school student visiting the Golden Gate Bridge on a field trip climbed over a railing, jumped — possibly on a dare by fellow classmates — and somehow survived the 220-foot plunge into San Francisco Bay that kills dozens of people each year.

A quarter of the homes burned in an enormous blaze sparked after a gas line ruptured are still too hot to search for victims, fire officials said tonight.

A massive blast triggered by a suspected gas leak killed at least four people and destroyed more than 50 houses in a neighbourhood near San Francisco today.