Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Japanese air bag manufacturer Takata Corp is doubling a recall of potentially deadly air bags to nearly 34 million vehicles, making it the largest automotive recall in American history, U.S. safety regulators said on Tuesday. The recall involves passenger- and driver-side air bag inflators in vehicles made by 11 automakers, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Takata said. It expands on the 16.6 million vehicles called back for repairs for the same issue in previous regional and national recalls, and boosts the number of vehicles affected globally since 2008 to more than 53 million.

Texas police seek gang truce, end of bloodshed after deadly brawl

Texas police asked rival motorcycle gangs on Tuesday to put aside their differences after a weekend brawl at a Waco restaurant that left nine people dead and 18 injured, calling for a halt to the carnage and threats of revenge attacks. "There has been enough tragedy and there has been enough bloodshed in Waco, Texas. We would appreciate there not being any more," Police Sergeant Patrick Swanton told a news briefing.

U.S. charges six Chinese nationals with economic espionage

The U.S government charged six Chinese nationals with economic espionage, saying they stole secrets from two companies that develop technology often used in military systems, the Department of Justice said on Tuesday. It was the third time in as many years that U.S. authorities have made accusations of economic espionage conducted on behalf of China, a sign that the United States is increasingly focused on what it has termed a top national security concern.

Elderly Idaho BASE jumper died burning parachute in stunt: newspaper

A 73-year-old man who died earlier this month in a botched 500-foot BASE jump from an Idaho bridge was attempting a stunt that included the burning of his parachute, the local Twin Falls Times-News reported on Tuesday. Jim Hickey of Claremont, California, planned to jump off the Perrine Bridge into the Snake River as another person set his parachute on fire, the newspaper reported, citing local sheriff's officials.

Los Angeles gives preliminary approval to $15 minimum wage

The Los Angeles City Council voted on Tuesday to increase the minimum wage in the nation's second-largest city to $15 an hour by 2020 from the current $9, in a victory for labor and community groups that have pushed for similar pay hikes in several U.S. municipalities. The council's 14-1 vote on the measure, which must come back before the panel for final approval, would require businesses with more than 25 employees to meet the $15 pay level by 2020, while smaller businesses would have an extra year to comply.

McDonald's, other fast-food workers, protest ahead of annual meeting

Thousands of McDonald's workers seeking a minimum wage of $15 per hour and the right to unionize are expected to swarm the fast-food giant's headquarters for two days of protests that will coincide with the fast-food chain's annual meeting on Thursday. Protests by low-wage fast-food and retail workers have helped fuel a national debate about pay levels. Companies such as McDonald's Corp and Wal-Mart Stores Inc are raising starting pay and cities like Seattle and Chicago are boosting their respective minimum wages over time.

Oklahoma set to overturn local drilling controls as backlash brews

Facing a backlash over the side effects of its oil and gas boom, Oklahoma is poised to overturn an 80-year-old statute that allows cities and towns to ban drilling operations within their borders. The legislation, now being finalised, would help insulate energy companies from local movements that have grown in response to the rapid expansion of oil and gas drilling and a dramatic spike in earthquakes across the central state.

Prostitute pleads guilty in Google executive's heroin death

A prostitute charged with killing a Google executive by injecting him with heroin on his yacht off the California coast pleaded guilty on Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter, court officials said. Alix Catherine Tichelman, 27, was sentenced to six years in prison by a Santa Cruz Superior Court judge after she accepted a plea deal in which a manslaughter charge was reduced to involuntary manslaughter, a court official said.

Groups warn Oregon mine militia dispute threatens democracy

A coalition of public policy advocates warned on Tuesday that a group of armed conservative activists who have been guarding a mine in southern Oregon for over a month are a sign of an emerging violent anti-government movement. The groups behind the newly formed "Ballots Not Bullets" coalition said they will seek to promote democracy over what they call militia-style extremism and will try to counter these kinds of movements nationwide.

Ruptured pipeline spills 21,000 gallons of oil on California coast

A pipeline ruptured along the scenic California coastline on Tuesday, spilling some 21,000 gallons (79,000 liters) of oil into the ocean and on beaches before it could be secured, a U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman said. The pipeline, which runs parallel to Highway 101 near Santa Barbara, left a slick extending about four miles (6.4 km) along Refugio State Beach, extending about 50 yards (46 meters) into the water, Petty Officer Andrea Anderson of the Coast Guard said.