The battle for the Democrtic nomination takes the lead in a number of the papers this morning.

Now Bring on McCain says the Independent

After an epic five-month battle that has transformed American politics, Barack Obama crossed the finishing line last night and pledged to lead the Democratic Party into battle against John McCain in his extraordinary quest to become the first African-American president in this country's history.

Clinton's White house dream draws to an end says the Guardian

Barack Obama made history tonight by beating Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination to become the first African American with a viable chance of winning the White House.
Obama's victory effectively brought to an end Clinton's bid to become the first US female president.
It also confirms Obama's reputation as a political giant-slayer, who after less than four years in the US Senate brought down the couple credited with creating the Democrats' most powerful political machine

Obama waits on the threshold of victory leads the Times

Even as voters cast their ballots in South Dakota and Montana, the final primaries of their marathon 16-month battle, Democratic power brokers had effectively sealed the contest by lining up behind Mr Obama. When polls closed, more than two dozen announced their backing for him.

Of the qualities only the Telegraph leads with a different story

Private companies to take over failing hospitals says the paper

Poor managers are to be sacked without receiving large payouts and replaced by staff from profit-making companies who would be paid with public money.
The NHS will retain ownership of hospital buildings and services but the private firm will "take over" the day to day running of the hospital.
Ministers believe the proposals will drive up standards within the health service.

Labour rebels in talks after Smith reveals parliamentary safeguards reports the Guardian

Labour rebels opposed to extending pre-charge detention for terrorist suspects to 42 days will meet this afternoon to plan tactics amid signs that concessions offered yesterday have not guaranteed Gordon Brown victory in next Wednesday's vote.
One seasoned organiser of Labour rebellions said he knew eight MPs who have now decided at least to abstain, adding that he himself would be voting for the government.

The Independent reports that

New powers to hold terror suspects for up to 42 days without charge would be triggered only by a "grave and exceptional" threat akin to the 7 July bombings in London, ministers said yesterday as they moved to defuse a potentially devastating revolt by Labour MPs.
Publishing 46 amendments to the Counter-Terrorism Bill, ministers insisted the raft of concessions would ensure that the contentious powers were used only in the most extreme circumstances and would strengthen the right of MPs to veto the emergency measures.

The Mail is amongst many of the papers who report

Police knew an obsessed stalker had attacked and threatened to kill stabbed schoolgirl Arsema Dawit - but officers said they were powerless to protect her, family friends claim.
The 15-year-old former choirgirl, whose body was found slumped in a lift with ten stab wounds, was being constantly harassed and had been slapped around the face by a man who attended her church.

Stabbed teenager was just moments from safety says the Telegraph

Tsehay Dawit was making toast in her fourth-floor flat in south London on Monday afternoon when there was a knock at the door, which she assumed to be her daughter Arsema arriving home from school at her usual time.
Instead she opened the door to a teenage neighbour, who lived on the floor below. Arsema, he told her, had just been found, stabbed and bleeding, in the lift on the ground floor

The Times reports that

£500m ‘wasted’ on Chinooks that have never flown

The Ministry of Defence has spent more than £500 million on eight Chinook helicopters that have never been flown as a result of “one of the most incompetent procurements of all time”, an audit has concluded.
The helicopters have been sitting in a special air-conditioned shelter for the past seven years because of a “gold-standard cockup” that meant the machines’ software could not be accessed.

The Sun and the Mirror both lead with Gazza,

Locked up for his own safety says the Mirror

Paul Gascoigne was yesterday sectioned for three months after friends begged doctors to lock him up for his own good.
Gazza, 42, whose mental problems are fuelled by binge drinking, will be held under the Mental Health Act while he is treated. Former team-mate Gary Mabbutt said: "It's the best thing for Paul

While the Sun reports Quit booze or you'll die

PAUL Gascoigne’s former England boss Terry Venables today sends him a heartfelt plea: “Stop drinking or you’ll kill yourself.”
Gazza, 42, was last night sectioned for the third time this year over his drunken scrapes.

The Express believes that potholed roads are a national disgrace

BRITAIN’S roads have been allowed to fall apart under Labour despite motorists being hammered with record taxes, drivers said yesterday.
Chronic under-investment on the country’s potholed roads is a “national disgrace” that is putting lives at risk, they warned.
Motorists pay more than £44billion a year in various taxes including fuel duty – yet only £8billion is spent on the country’s entire transport network, including the railways.

Many of the papers report that

Mosley survives after secret ballot

To the astonishment of the outside world, the sport of motor racing decided yesterday not to sack Max Mosley, the head of its governing body, despite lurid allegations about his private life.
The extraordinary victory came at a price for the 68-year-old multi-millionaire, however. After a lifetime of sharing the spotlight with royalty and celebrities, a welcome guest at the most glamorous venues, Mr Mosley will see out his final days in office as a pariah, repudiated by former allies and business partners.

says the Times

There is much coverage of the Un food summit but it centres on Robert Mugabe

Taking the stage at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation summit on food security in Rome yesterday, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe presented his ravaged nation as a text-book case of land reform – its only problems being the result of "illegal sanctions" and the machinations of opposition parties "which are a creation of the West".

reports the Independent

The Guardian though reports

US attacked at food summit over biofuels

The biofuel issue quickly emerged as the most contentious at a summit on the global food crisis being held in Rome. American claims that its subsidies for the production of corn ethanol were not playing a significant role in sharp increases in the price of food triggered an angry response during a closed-door meeting, and was contradicted by UN figures.
The issue will be debated at a round table session today, where an official of the food and agriculture organisation (FAO) predicted "sparks will fly".

The Telegraph reporting

Gordon Brown warned that the world "cannot afford to fail" to deal with the global food crisis, which is resulting in 9,000 under-fives starving to death each day.
Speaking as heads of state prepared to meet for a United Nations summit on soaring food prices, the Prime Minister said it was vital to increase food production in the world's poorest countries

.

The Mail is concerned with energy at home,its front page says

Energy prices are rising faster in Britain than almost anywhere in Western Europe because foreign suppliers are rationing our own gas.
As major users told MPs that European power monopolies were effectively holding Britain to ransom, the extent of the UK's suffering was spelled out by the respected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
It said UK energy prices have jumped 13.6 per cent in the past year, adding hundreds of pounds to domestic bills. This compares with 9.5 per cent in Germany, 12 per cent in France and just 2.8 per cent in the Netherlands.

The Independent reports that

Malaria: a miracle in the making offers hope to millions worldwide

The lives of more than a million children who die each year from malaria could be saved by a new technique for making a drug based on an ancient Chinese herbal remedy first used more than 2,000 years ago.
Scientists said yesterday that the drug will be the first product of a new approach to making pharmaceuticals using "synthetic biology", where genetically engineered microbes with implanted artificial chromosomes, or gene "cassettes", are grown in giant fermenting vats

The Sun reports that

INCEST monster Josef Fritzl has received 200 letters from warped women offering him LOVE and affection.
The lonely hearts told the depraved beast he is misunderstood and “good at heart”.
They accepted his claims that he kept his daughter Elisabeth in a cellar for 24 years to prevent her from straying and to keep her safe from drugs and booze.

The Mail reports that

Country faces a crisis of drink and violence, MPs told

Stephen Otter, head of Devon and Cornwall police, painted a desperate picture of the heavy drinking culture scarring Britain.
He said parents routinely turn a blind eye to underage drinking - and even send youngsters away on holiday laden with alcohol.
And he warned that the number of rapes related to alcohol is on the rise, and alcohol was a factor in nearly half of violent crime last year

If the name is Smith, you drive a Ford Fiesta and like Spain .. YOU are Mr & Mrs Average says the Mirror

Lying on the beach sipping sangria, you are already planning your next trip to Spain.
As you dip your toes in the warm Med waters, you hope the neighbours are keeping an eye on your detached home in England called The Cottage and also the Ford Fiesta.
You and your wife are called Smith and, while it may not seem like it, you are today's Mr and Mrs Average, according to a survey.

Finally a sign of the Times in the Indy

Peel an orange, and other things Britons won't do

Oranges are declining in popularity, according to Grocer magazine. They were introduced to our larders and kitchens from Asia 1,000 years ago, and their juice is our favourite morning heart-starter – but the actual spherical bomb of vitamin C, fibre, potassium and folate is less appetising with every passing year.
Why? Not because we've gone off the taste, but because we find them too difficult to peel. It's pathetic but true. Compared with the easy-peel, lighter-weight satsuma and tangerine, the noble orange is considered too big, too messy and too inconvenient to denude with your human fingers.