The Department of Homeland Security's independent watchdog agency has stepped up its oversight of the Secret Service's investigation into the Colombia prostitution scandal.

During a tour of Mexico and Central America, US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano says the war on drugs is not a failure.

The Secret Service is investigating itself in the Colombia prostitution scandal, rather than turn the probe over to the independent Inspector General who typically looks into allegations of misconduct by Department of Homeland Security officials. The approach appears to be the result of a special carve-out for the Secret Service forged a decade ago -- setting it apart from the standard described in a 2009 internal DHS memo, which specifically asserts that the Inspector General is "statutorily responsible for conducting and coordinating all investigations" of wrongdoing by other Homeland Security employees.

Paediatricians join calls for the government's Health and Social Care Bill to be scrapped, saying changes secured so far do not go far enough.