U.S.-Taliban Talks Set to Begin Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, 19 Jun (IPS) - Nearly 12 years after the United States ousted the Taliban from power, the White House announced Tuesday that the United States will begin formal talks with the militant Islamist group in Qatar later this week as part of Afghanistan's national reconciliation process. more...   Colombia, the United States, and Montesquieu Johan Galtung ALFAZ, Spain, 18 Jun (IPS) - The United States and Colombia are the leaders in mental anxiety in the Americas. Both have good reasons: Colombia has witnessed the longest lasting violence in any contemporary country: from 1949, with some interruptions, then on again from 1964 with the notorious guerilla group, the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). more...   U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Voter Registration Law Cydney Hargis WASHINGTON, 17 Jun (IPS) - In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down voter application requirements demanding proof of citizenship, making it much easier for naturalised citizens to register to vote. more...   How Booz Allen Made the Revolving Door Redundant Pratap Chatterjee WASHINGTON, 17 Jun (IPS) - Edward Snowden, a low-level employee of Booz Allen Hamilton who blew the whistle on the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), unexpectedly exposed a powerful and seamless segment of the military-industrial complex - the world of contractors that consumes some 70 percent of this country's 52-billion-dollar intelligence budget. more...   Group Highlights Broken Families in Anti-Deportation Protest Lucy Westcott NEW YORK, 16 Jun (IPS) - As the debate on immigration reform continues in the Senate and fractured talks persist about the future of 11 million undocumented migrants, one New York-based group took to the streets to ask their senator a question. more...   Legal Pressure Increases on Unpaid Internships in U.S. Cydney Hargis WASHINGTON, 15 Jun (IPS) - A landmark court decision this week has challenged the controversial existence of unpaid internships, highlighting calls for greater clarity on the legal definition of an internship. more...   Despite Arms Announcement, U.S. Syria Strategy Remains Unclear Jim Lobe WASHINGTON, 14 Jun (IPS) - Despite Thursday's announcement that President Barack Obama has decided to provide direct military assistance to Syrian rebels, what precisely the administration has in mind remains unclear. more...   U.S. Government Looks to Trim Massive Penal Code Carey L. Biron WASHINGTON, 14 Jun (IPS) - A Congressional task force started work Friday to review the massive U.S. federal penal code and cull statutes deemed to be overlapping, ineffective or otherwise unnecessary. more...   Genes Cannot be Patented, U.S. Supreme Court Rules Carey L. Biron WASHINGTON, 13 Jun (IPS) - The nine judges of the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that naturally occurring DNA, including component parts of that genetic material, cannot be patented. more...   Rights Groups Push to Improve New York Sex Trafficking Law Lucy Westcott NEW YORK, 13 Jun (IPS) - It started for Ruth when she was 12 years old and for Lowyal when she was 13. After being raped by her mother's boyfriend, Ruth ran away from home and was picked up by a pimp, who sold her into prostitution. more...