Trump 'presumptive' White House nominee as Cruz crashes out

Donald Trump seized the mantle of Republican standard-bearer for the 2016 presidential election late May 3, sending his only serious challenger Ted Cruz crashing out of the White House race.

After charging to victory in Indiana, the unorthodox, anti-establishment candidate embraced the role of de facto nominee and trained his sights on the Democrat most likely to face him in the battle for the White House.

"We're going after Hillary Clinton," the billionaire real estate mogul told jubilant supporters gathered at Trump Tower in New York to celebrate the victory.

"We're going to win in November, and we're going to win big." 

The May 3 contest in the mid-western state was the final firewall thrown up by Republican heavyweights to keep their brash, name-calling antagonist from locking in the party's nomination.

But as the race was called overwhelmingly in Trump's favor, Cruz conceded to supporters in Indianapolis that he no longer had a viable path forward.

"We left it all on the field in Indiana," Cruz said as he announced he was suspending his campaign. 
"We gave it everything we've got, but the voters chose another path." 

It was a stunning denouement for the arch-conservative Texas senator who had insisted he would press on to the final day of the Republican race.

His departure leaves the low-polling Ohio Governor John Kasich as Trump's only other challenger for the nomination - making it a virtual certainty that Trump will go head to head in a general election matchup with Clinton.

Clinton, meanwhile, suffered a shock upset in Indiana as her Democratic rival Bernie Sanders mounted a come-from-behind victory, denying the former secretary of state a feather in her cap as she seeks to...