AP Digital News: Obama Thanks North Carolina for Win 07 May

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were nervously awaiting the verdict on Tuesday of voters in North Carolina and Indiana, the biggest nominating contests left in their Democratic presidential tussle. An AFPTV report.

With nearly all the votes counted, Obama had doubled Clinton's vote total, winning 55 percent to her 27 percent, a more than 2 to 1 margin. Edwards had 18 percent. Speakers: Sen. Barack Obama Sen. Hillary Clinton Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution

The crew of the U.S.S. North Carolina, somewhere far from home, plans Christmas for their children. A check for over $2,000, the sum of their donations, accompanies a letter written to Macy's department store in New York, along with a list of 729 names and addresses of small fry. The store is requested to choose a gift for each at an average cost of three dollars, and mail same with a card reading "For sons and daughters, Merry Christmas from your dad and his shipmates of the U.S.S. North Carolina.

Athens, GA. - Led by Charley Justice, the North Carolina Tar Heels rip through the Georgia Bulldogs. An 85-yard punt return by Justice is the thrill play of the contest.

Witnesses say the fire burned so hot and so quickly that there was very little time for anyone to escape. The investigation is continuing as to what caused the fatal fire. Jon Decker reports.

The Illinois senator ran on a campaign of change and against what he called the partisan climate in American politics. Obama's win has dealt a setback to national front-runner New York Senator Hillary Clinton in the first nominating contest of the 2008 U.S presidential election and gives him momentum as he heads into the January 8th primary vote in New Hampshire, where polls showed him in a tight race with Clinton.

This is his 9th straight victory over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in their battle for the party's presidential nomination.

For Republicans, the political landscape is a bit clearer. John McCain, who is now more than half way toward securing the Republican nomination, is already at work on unifying his own party-- reaching out to conservatives who have been wary of his candidacy. Jon Decker reports.

Obama trounced his Democratic rival, taking 61 percent of the vote to Clinton's 37 percent. Exit polls showed that about 90 percent of African-Americans backed Obama, who is trying to become America's first black president. The victory in Mississippi extended Obama's lead over Hillary Clinton in pledged delegates to the August nominating convention. The next big showdown is in Pennsylvania in six weeks time. With 158 delegates at stake, it's the biggest single-state haul remaining in the race for the nomination.

The next big battle for delegates is the Pennsylvania primary on April 22