The story

Barack Obama edged closer to securing the Democratic nomination in the U.S. presidential election early Wednesday after claiming a decisive victory in North Carolina as his rival Hillary Clinton narrowly took Indiana, vowing to keep her campaign alive.

The latest round in the drawn-out contest to select a challenger to George W. Bush's likely Republican successor John McCain helped Obama strengthen his lead over Clinton, but failed to strike a final blow against either candidate.

Both Clinton and Obama greeted the results with conciliatory speeches focusing on unity and the race for the White House rather than the divisive attacks on each other that have previously been the hallmark of the campaign. Read full article »

CNN's Susan Candiotti, Dan Lothian and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

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