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Trump Accuses "NY Time" of Libel; Clinton Spars with Trump, Tries to Outrun Sanders; Iraqi Forces Fight to Retake Towns from ISIS; U.N. Pushing for Nationwide Reconciliation in Syria; NASA: April Warming Month on Record; LGBT Community Lives in Fear after Bangladesh Murders; Man Finds Silver Lining after Manchester United Game Postponed after Bomb Scare; First Gay Rugby Club in South Africa Is Challenging Stereotypes. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 17, 2016 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[02:00:23] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Errol Barnett. Thanks for joining our two-hour block. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

(HEADLINES)

CHURCH: The media scrutiny of Donald Trump has ramped up since he became the presumptive Republican nominee and he is responding by going on the offensive.

BARNETT: Sara Murray on a report that he and his past behavior for women.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump is going to war with the media yet again. This time, Trump is taking aim at "The New York Times," with highlights appearing to objectify women and make unwelcome advances.

Today, one of the women featured in the piece, who once dated Trump, said her story was misrepresented.

ROWANNE BREWER LANE, FORMER MODEL & FORMER DONALD TRUMP GIRLFRIEND: I made it clear that I had a pleasant relationship with Donald. And I never felt like I was being depicted as a piece of meat or anything like that. I was never offended by anything that he had said.

MURRAY: Prompting Trump to call the story a hit piece on Twitter. Adding, "We have exposed the article as a fraud."

The story reveals instances of Trump critiquing women's figures, getting a pageant contestant an unwanted kiss on the lips, and promoting women to high-profile corporate positions, even as he made off-hand comments that some viewed as demeaning and dismissive.

The reporters who interviewed women about their interactions with Trump, is standing by their piece.

MICHAEL BARBARO, REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: There's no single dimension to Donald Trump and the women, and I think our story makes that clear. I think it makes it clear in the voice and the people we interviewed.

MURRAY: The transition to presumptive nominee means more media scrutiny for Trump. Last week, it was a "Washington Post" story on the billionaire businessman posing of his own spokesman, which provided more fodder for "Saturday Night Live."

UNIDENTIFIED COMEDIAN: Mr. Trump is the real-life inspiration for "Iron Man."

(LAUGHTER)

Who am I? I'm his publicist, Joey Pepperoni.

MURRAY: This weekend, President Obama landed his own shots against the Republican, critiquing Trump's plan to bar Muslims from entering the U.S., and calling him ignorant without calling him out by name.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue.

(LAUGHTER)

It's not cool to not know what you're talking about.

(LAUGHTER)

That's not keeping it real or telling it like it is.

(CHEERING)

That's not challenging political correctness.

(LAUGHTER)

That's just not knowing what you're talking about.

MURRAY: All of this, as some GOP leaders, including 2012 GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, and "Weekly Standard" editor, Bill Kristol, are trying to recruit a third party candidate to take on Trump. It's an effort the RNC chair denounced and called a suicide mission.

REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: You're throwing down not just eight years of the White House, but potentially 100 years on the Supreme Court and wrecking this country for many generations.

MURRAY (on camera): While Donald Trump has taken the approach of slamming the media organization that's been digging into his past, and saying anything of "The New York Times" report is untrue, what the campaign has not done is taken a cohesive approach to improve his numbers with women. He has high unfavorables in the broader electorate among female voters. And that's something he has to deal with if he hopes to be victorious in November.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Joining me now from our New York bureau is Republican strategist, Brian Morgenstern, who was previously supporting Marco Rubio for the Republican nomination.

Thank you for talking with us again.

BRIAN MORGENSTERN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: My pleasure.

CHURCH: The Trump campaign has spent the last few days putting out fires on various issues, including his behavior with women. And now, a former Trump girlfriend is disputing "The New York Times" version of her account of events. What impact is this likely to have on the Trump campaign, given his negatives with women voters?

[02:05:06] MORGENSTERN: Time will tell. It's obviously, as you mentioned, damage control and trying to change perception. And the way Trump, you know, the campaign rolls things out like this. It's entertaining. It gets into the nitty-gritty and provides new characters that have been the campaign thus far. And people will pay attention. To the extent it's effective, it will reach a wide audience. But in terms of voting, the primaries are largely over on the Republican side. This will be borne out with polling data as we get closer to the general election. And there's more statistics for us to analyze along those lines.

CHURCH: One of the other fires, over the weekend, a lot made of Trump apparently pretending to be his own P.R. guy some years back. Is this all just to distract from him failing to release his taxes? Or is this what we're going to see from now, until November?

MORGENSTERN: It's sort of classic Trump. It is this weird conspiracy theory, where there's a smidge of deniability, but not really. And it captivates people. It's a bizarre behavior and sort of funny and a little bit harmless. But it is going to be reported on because it is so weird. To the extent he's trying to distract, if that's the goal, it's working. It keeps his name at the top of the headlines and continues to captivate people, how strange a character Donald Trump is.

CHURCH: In an interview on "Good Morning, Britain," Trump responded to David Cameron, calling him divisive, stupid and wrong. In regards to his ban on all Muslims, Trump said he's not stupid. How does it play out for Republicans? Is it embarrassing? Is it cringe-worthy?

MORGENSTERN: When a world leader calls out an American, the natural response, at least often times on the Republican side, is they want a tough guy. And so, Trump coming out saying, I'm not stupid, and you're not starting our relationship off very well, basically coming out with that strong stance, is the reaction, most Republican voters want.

CHURCH: We are seeing more of how Trump and Hillary Clinton will target each other, calls for policy details, now Bill Clinton in regards to the economy. What advice would you give for each campaign right now?

MORGENSTERN: Obviously, jobs, jobs, jobs. The other side of the coin, in addition of informing the American people, how you're going to get the economy going, how to protect them from terrorism, those are the two key issues, in addition, why your opponent shouldn't win. And expect that to be a key focus. Negativity drives voter turnout more than positivity. Obviously, Hillary has telegraphed that she's going to call him a loose canon. And he says he is going to call her corrupt, the e-mail controversy, of classified information on her own server, and other lines of attack. I don't expect either one of them to pull any punches. This is going to be a battle royale. And everybody is gearing up for it.

CHURCH: Yeah, and negativity, that's saying right now. We'll see how it develops.

Brian Morgenstern, thank you so much. Pleasure to talk with you.

MORGENSTERN: My pleasure.

BARNETT: Meanwhile, John Kasich, anyone remember him? He is crushing the hopes of some in the Republican Party. In an exclusive interview, the former presidential candidate declined to endorse Trump and further emphasized how he's not going to consider being Trump's running mate. As for a third party run, listen:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KASICH, (R), OHIO GOVERNOR & FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're not a third party kind of a country. And just to run a campaign to block somebody to me -- see, because at the same time, I wanted to win and I wanted to get to an open convention. My basic deal was not to stop somebody else. It was to be about the ideals I had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Tuesday's primaries in Oregon and Kentucky are the next contests for Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

BARNETT: But Clinton is sparring with Donald Trump, as she tries to outrun Sanders. It's a difficult maneuver.

Senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, has more on this angle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[02:09:56] HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: I'll tell you what the truth is. It's time people stop listening to Republican propaganda about the economy, education and health care.

(CHEERING)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before she can take on Republicans, Hillary Clinton had a more urgent task in mind today, her battle with Bernie Sanders. She is hoping to disrupt Sanders' winning streak.

(CHEERING)

ZELENY: Campaigning across Kentucky on the eve of Tuesday's primaries.

CLINTON: I want to help bring back the kind of economy that worked for everybody in the 1990s.

ZELENY: And revealing more about Bill Clinton, and his role in her White House.

CLINTON: I've already told my husband if I'm so fortunate enough to be president and he will be the first gentleman.

(CHEERING)

CLINTON: I expect him to go to work.

ZELENY: It's another way to fire up Democrats, offering two Clintons for the price of one.

CLINTON: He has to get out of retirement.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he does. Yes, he does.

ZELENY: She wants nothing more than to focus exclusively on Donald Trump.

CLINTON: Here's the question, what is your plan to create jobs?

ZELENY: Envisioning what a debate would sound like.

CLINTON: His answer is, I'm going to create them. They're going to be great.

(LAUGHTER)

I know how to do it. But I'm not telling you what it is I'm going to do.

ZELENY: But Sanders isn't going quietly. Campaigning, today, in Puerto Rico, and trying to speak Spanish.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS, (I), VERMONT & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

ZELENY: Clinton is only 140 delegates away from hitting the mark needed to reach the party's nomination. She needs to win only 16 percent of the remaining delegates. Sanders needs 102 percent, an unreachable goal, unless a flood of super delegates suddenly came his way.

No matter the size of her lead, some Sanders supporters won't accept it. Raw tensions on display at the weekend Nevada Democratic convention.

(BOOING)

ZELENY: Booing, shouting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This meeting is not over.

ZELENY: Even a chair being thrown.

(SHOUTING)

ZELENY: The fight growing so intense over delegates, authorities shutting down the meeting early.

This Democratic family feud may seem polite compared to what's awaiting Clinton in her fight with Trump.

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: This is Crooked Hillary Clinton.

ZELENY: He's the one person Democratic leaders believe can unify their party.

CLINTON: I've been called nearly everything. But I've never been called a quitter. I will not quit on you.

ZELENY (on camera): Her campaign is trying to clarify the remarks she made about what role Bill Clinton would serve in her administration. He would not be in her cabinet at all. And her spokesman said it's premature to offer any formalized role because she does not have the nomination and has not won the election. But there's no doubt she's looking forward to take on Donald Trump. But she will not hit that magic threshold of 2,383 delegates until she reaches the California primary on June 7th.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Joining me now is Theron Johnson. He is a former regional director for President Obama's 2012 campaign.

Theron, thanks for joining us.

Secretary Clinton is working hard to woo the Kentucky voters, offering Bill Clinton as an economy czar. Made almost a dozen campaign stops in the state over the last week, flooding the air waves with ads. Even though she is ahead in delegates, how much does she need the Kentucky win for upticks and her narrative? THERON JOHNSON, FORMER REGIONAL DIRECTOR, BARACK OBAMA 2012

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was happy to see that the campaign is spending time in Kentucky. Frankly, Errol, this is what they're supposed to be doing right now. The tough position that Hillary Clinton is in, is a time she has the nomination clinched. She's 133 delegates away from sealing the nomination. But she has to spend time in Kentucky because Bernie Sanders has been on a winning streak and winning some key Democratic primary states.

Now, one of the things I was happy to hear, was her tone in Kentucky. I mean, she's talking about, again, strengthening the middle class. Doing everything we can to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and talking about jobs, particularly, around the issues of stagnation with women workers. In a state that's probably not going to go for her in November. But she will stay on-message, which was a general election message, so, she will be prepared to beat Donald Trump in November.

BARNETT: She has the Bernie Sanders issue. What happened in Nevada? You have Bernie Sanders supporters there that were ready to throw chairs that were upset at delegate rules changing in a way that negatively impacted their candidate. Could this outrage show itself again?

JOHNSON: No. One thing that's going on in the Democratic side, if they're a Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton supporter, we have to be unified against Donald Trump in November. And Bernie Sanders figured out about a month ago that he couldn't be the nominee for the Democratic Party. With him staying in the race, the Clinton campaign has to be frustrated. They know they have this in the bag. But Bernie Sanders, consequently, cannot ignore his voters when he was raising $40 million in one month, he's wracked up a lot of wins in key primary states. He's got to stay in the race and stay strong. But ultimately, what Hillary Clinton cannot do is allow Bernie Sanders, the speech he's been giving for the last 30 years, drive her to the left. She has to stay middle, middle-right, and remain a centrist candidate that can go up and beat Donald Trump in November.

[02:15:51] BARNETT: I can feel Bernie Sanders supporters saying he ended his presidential campaign. They would disagree.

But Clinton, we've seen, she's starting to mock Donald Trump. This is something he does regularly to his opponents. Will that work for her? Will calling him a loose canon, when it's his style is part of his appeal, will that benefit the Clinton campaign?

JOHNSON: She is a saying, what everyone has seen from Donald Trump, since he decided he wanted to run for president. He has shown a disrespect for women. He says, I want to ban Muslims from coming to the U.S. He comes back last week and said, I didn't mean all Muslims, only some Muslims and a temporary ban.

And we all agree on the Democrat side that Donald Trump doesn't have the temperament nor the experience nor the policy ideas to go and lead the United States of America. So, I think what you're going to see from Hillary Clinton is a stronger approach, with stronger language, to really remind the American people when the two are facing each other this is a race about the future. He is promoting hatred and living in the past. Those two visions will be front and center. And the American people will make the right choice. That choice will be Hillary Clinton.

BARNETT: Important issues, of course, but it's a face-off we want to see. Fireworks are guaranteed.

The former regional director for Obama's 2012 presidential campaign, Theron Johnson, thank you for your time today.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CHURCH: A neighborhood in Syria's capitol is struggling to recover after five years of war. But now, some rebels are putting down their weapons. We will look at whether reconciliation can have a lasting effect in the country. We're back with that and more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:21:36] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Iraqi forces are fighting to retake key towns held by ISIS, particularly Mosul.

BARNETT: A U.S. envoy says the militant group has ramped up attacks in the country to make up for territorial losses. You see the losses highlighted in green on this map.

Chief U.S. security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): ISIS strikes again inside Iraq.

(EXPLOSION)

SCIUTTO: The latest target, a natural gas plant in the capitol, Baghdad, killing 10. A string of deadly attacks by the terror group in the last seven days has left more than 100 dead and 200 wounded.

The U.S. special envoy, Brett McGurk, visiting Jordan, says ISIS is resorting to terror to take up for a series of losses on the battlefield.

BRETT MCGURK, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: It relies on suicide attacks for getting spectacular headlines.

SCIUTTO: The U.S. is trying to add to ISIS's battlefield defeats, working with security forces and tribes to take the strategically important town of al Rutba (ph).

But the bigger prize is Mosul.

(SHOUTING)

SCIUTTO: Under ISIS control for nearly two years, Iraq's second- largest city is a target of repeated coalition air strikes and intelligence operations.

MCGURK: We've begun the process of isolating Daesh in Mosul. We're doing precision air strikes in Mosul almost every day. We have a lot of information from the people inside of Mosul about what Daesh is doing inside the city.

SCIUTTO: President Obama has vowed to retake Mosul before he leaves office.

OBAMA: My expectation is that, by the end of the year, we will have created the conditions whereby Mosul will eventually fall.

SCIUTTO: Now, the timeline appears to be sliding once again.

The nation's top intelligence chief telling "The Washington Post," quote, "We will take Mosul, but it will take a long time and be mess messy. I don't see that happening in this administration."

In Syria, the U.S. may be fighting on two fronts, with Osama bin Laden's successor warning that al Qaeda will have their own caliphate in the region. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Our Jim Sciutto reporting.

CHURCH: In Syria, the government claims a local reconciliation effort is working to persuade rebels to lay down their arms. But the U.N. doesn't have faith in that.

BARNETT: It wants nationwide reconciliation to end the war in the country.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in a part of Damascus that's been ravaged by fighting and is only now returning to a semblance of normalcy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Like so many places in Syria, this neighborhood in Damascus is scarred by five years of war. But now, some civilians are returning.

"I was forced out a few years ago. This is the first time I'm able to go back," this woman says.

The Syrian army says a local reconciliation project helped silence the guns here. Enticing some rebels, like this man, to lay down their arms.

"I think reconciliation like this is the only way forward," he says, "even though it might take some time for rebels to latch on to the idea."

The Syrian military claims between 150 to 200 have deflected, leading to a drop in violence.

[02:25:08] (on camera): As you can see, there's widespread destruction in this neighborhood. But the military commander for this district says it could have been even worse. They wouldn't have had the reconciliation program if the fighting would have gone on even longer.

(GUNFIRE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the United States and the U.N. are skeptical of programs like this one. Instead of local projects, they want to spread a nationwide cease-fire in Syria and jump-start the political reconciliation process for the whole country.

Many rebel factions don't trust the Syrian government, believing they will be locked up or worse if they lay down their guns.

But this member of the reconciliation council shows me lists of names he claims proves that many rebels are taking up the government's offer.

"The names in green have been accepted in national reconciliation," he says. "They are now free to go anywhere without fearing punishment."

While this project may have yielded results in this neighborhood of Syria's capital, the U.S. believes only nationwide reconciliation, backed by powerful nations like the U.S. and Russia, can overcome the distrust of the warring factions and move the effort of Syria's civil war forward.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Damascus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BARNETT: Fred will join us live next hour from Damascus to discus his report.

Gay activists in Bangladesh already operate underground. We'll see how they're responded to a series of brutal murders. More on that coming up after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:56] BARNETT: We are half an hour into our two-hour block. A warm welcome back to those watching in the states and everyone tuning in around the world. I'm Errol Barnett.

CHURCH: I'm Rosemary Church.

We do want to update you on the stories we're watching this hour.

(HEADLINES)

CHURCH: The underground gay community in Bangladesh has been living in fear after several murders there. BARNETT: CNN's Alexandra Field visited the country's capitol and

spoke with members of the LGBT community who say they feel they're being hunted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're not in forums. I'm not able to contact with anyone.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Your friends have disappeared?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. The big shots, they have disappeared.

FIELD: They're afraid.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's normal. They should be afraid. They should be. It's the situation right now.

FIELD (voice-over): In Bangladesh, a country of 160 million people, LGBT activists are living in the shadows.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before it was just in the not accepting people. Now, it's killing people.

FIELD (on camera): How many of your friends have just left? Left the country?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know one girl, she left the country. I know other girl, she left the country. And they are not going to come back. Why should they come back? To die?

FIELD (voice-over): Bangladesh's LGBT community and other supporters have been forced into hiding after the killings of two LGBT leaders, killings claimed by ISIS militants who call homosexuality un-Islamic.

(on camera): This is where the two men died, right inside this building. Both men were gay rights activists and they had been threatened before. Police say a group of five or six men, posing as couriers burst into the building armed with machetes and hacked the men to death. One's mother and another woman were both inside.

(voice-over): Gay sex is outlawed in Bangladesh where he was pushing boundaries by publishing the country's first magazine called Groupon (ph). Those associated to the publication said it was risky from the start. Even the printers received threats. But it was bringing hope to people who had little.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are treated like animals here. We are treated like we are born in the wrong way. We have no rights to a stay in this world. And we have no right to love someone.

FIELD: We're protecting the identity of two secular bloggers and this university student, who says he's routinely teased and taunted for his sexuality. Now, the threat is getting worse.

(on camera): When you were posting in support of marriage equality, did you realize you were putting yourself in danger?

UNIDENTIFIED LGBT UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I was feeling that I'm writing for the truth. I'm righting for my right. But when I have written this, I have a feeling that I'm in grave danger. And now, I'm feeling like this. I'm really in danger. And I can be murdered at anywhere and any time.

FIELD (voice-over): The death leaves the future of his magazine unclear, that symbol of hope that people are more desperate for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And CNN's Alexandra Field joins us live from Hong Kong.

Alexandra, the details are horrifying, and the fear of persecution very real here. Only one arrest at this point? What do authorities say about the possibility of tracking down all those involved in these crimes?

FIELD: Right. There's the fear of persecution, the concerns of prosecuting in these cases because, as you point out, there has been just that one arrest related to the deaths of the activists. Police are hopeful this arrest can lead them to track down the other five or six suspects that may have been involved in the killings in Dachau. But that hasn't been the case in a lot of the cases. We've seen a number of the machete murders across the country, targeting religious leaders, secular bloggers, academics, all manner of people. There has been a real difficulty in identifying the suspects who are carrying out the attacks. There's been almost 50 arrests in total. But that mean there's always convictions. There's only been a handful of convictions related to any of the cases, which is why you're hearing so many people who are demanding justice. They believe if more of the criminals, the assailants, could be put an end to the attacks, which has intensified over weeks and months -- Rosemary?

[02:35:49] CHURCH: And in the meantime, can we expect to see more people leaving the country as a result of this, and the fear?

FIELD: When you talk to the young people, who are on the ground, living in this reality, a lot of them say it's, perhaps, their only option. It didn't an option for everyone. These are people with connections to Dachau or Bangladesh. But they cannot carry on. They have a fear of leaving the House and returning to the house. And a number said they were not public to start with. They weren't some of the most noted and secular bloggers. We're talking about regular people who were posting things on Facebook which they believe could now put them in harm's way -- Rosemary?

CHURCH: Alexandra Field, recently back from Bangladesh, with the disturbing reports there. Appreciate that, for talking with us.

BARNETT: Not all of the recent murder victims have openly criticized Islam. In the second part of Alexandra's series, you'll meet a young girl whose father was brutally hacked to death, for seemingly no reason at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: Why would someone like him be targeted?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My father was a believer. There is no doubt.

FIELD: He wasn't an atheist?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he was not an atheist. But he was interested in music. And a concept in Bangladesh is growing nowadays that those people who are interested in music, culture, they're not a believer in religion or something like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: Hear her story and what she plans to do about it, Tuesday, here on CNN.

CHURCH: Another story we're watching closely, the U.S. is warning Americans not to go to North Korea. The State Department is urging would-be travelers to reconsider for safety reasons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. JOHN KIRBY, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Again, I think that's reflective of the increased tensions we're seeing there on the peninsula and certainly the way -- the manner in which the regime has acted out against foreigners on travel to North Korea. We take our responsibilities very seriously to travelers. We give them as much information as they can before they travel, before they go overseas. And this is it. I think very much in keeping with our responsibilities to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: North Korea has been ramping up its weapons tests recently, which many Western powers see as a provocation. On top of that, analysts believe they have been detaining American citizens for political leverage.

CHURCH: Hundreds of people rallied near North Carolina's legislative building on Monday to protest the state's transgender bathroom law. The law requires people to use facilities that match their gender at birth.

BARNETT: The U.S. Justice Department and North Carolina have sued each other.

In an interview, Barack Obama defended his administration's recent directive on school bathroom use. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're talking about kids. Anybody who has been in school, in a high school, who's been a parent, I think should realize that kids who are sometimes the minority, kids who, you know, have a different sexual orientation or are transgender, are subject to a lot of bullying, potentially. There's -- they are vulnerable. And I think it's part of our obligation as a society to make sure that everybody is treated fairly and our kids are all loved and that they're protected and that their dignity is affirmed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BARNETT: North Carolina governor, Pat McCrory disagrees. He slammed Mr. Obama's guidance and is calling on Congress to address the issue.

[02:39:46] CHURCH: We're going to take a very short break. But still to come, thousands of Manchester United fans were sent home on Sunday after a bomb scare. We'll introduce you to one man who found a silver lining to his initial disappointment. We're back with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BARNETT: Welcome back. The World Wildlife Fund is asking for a ban in the waters of Baja, California, to protect the world's smallest porpoise.

CHURCH: The group says they are nearing extinction there with reportedly only 60 left. The WWF says they're being caught in nets, used illegally to catch fish that are a delicacy in China.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): The Chinese government and authorities has the responsibility of stopping the consumption of the air bladder of the fish. This demand is spurring this fishing in Mexico.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Conservationists say the deaths are a warning for other fish species in the region.

BARNETT: On Monday, NASA announced that the month of April was the warmest April ever observed here on earth since recordkeeping began back in 1880.

Our Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins us on what this means.

I think we report on there's been a warmest month ever. It's a trend.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I was going to say, in March, in February, in January. Since May of 2015, this April, now being April of 2016, 12-consecutive months where every hottest month has occurred in the last 12 months. It's an incredible pattern. Wire breaking them of the margin where the previous record has been every month moving forward. We'll show you what it means. Here's the breakdown, as far as the calendar outlook. Going back to May of 2015. Every one of them circled. Hottest respective months going back to 1880. An incredible average. This is a global average. April, at 1.11 degrees Celsius, above normal. Seven-consecutive months having the temperatures be one degree Celsius above the previous record. And three months seen records with the largest margin being broken. They're break big a significant margin. And the past five years, look at 2016, running away from 2015, for the hottest year on the planet. Expected to remain that way over the coming months.

I want to show you a fascinating spiral graph here, what it looks like over 100 years. Look at the red, the threshold you want to remain below. As we go into the '80s, '90s, 2000s, look what happens in recent years. The graphic disappears upon us. The temperature trend gets closer to the 1.5 degree threshold. And look at heat across India, where temperatures 120 Fahrenheit, upper 40s Celsius. And the hottest April in Baghdad, just a few weeks ago. They got up to 42 Celsius. That's 108 Fahrenheit. Notice in the last 24 hours, parts of Iraq, Baghdad, and also Basra in Iraq there, 47 Celsius, is 117 Fahrenheit. In the Middle East in May, it's hot. It's 99 Fahrenheit. That's normal, around 100 or so. It's 117 in the month of May.

[02:45:58] CHURCH: That's crazy.

JAVAHERI: When you see this, you lived in parts of the Middle East, as well, Errol. You felt extreme heat. We're seeing July, August temperatures in the month of May.

BARNETT: It's frightening because it's going to be a scorching hot summer for a lot of places. The young and the elderly really suffer from this. If there's a power outage, there's an emergency.

CHURCH: And there's no relief, a lot of the times.

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: OK, Pedram, thank you so much.

BARNETT: Thanks, Pedram.

JAVAHERI: Thanks, guys.

CHURCH: South Africa's first gay rugby club is shattering the sport's stereotypes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: the great thing about this rugby team, if you're straight, gay or bisexual, you can be yourself and play on our rugby team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Coming up, what they're doing to break down barriers and recruit new players.

We're back in a moment.

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(BUSINESS REPORT) [02:51:30] CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Thousands of fans were devastated when Manchester United's match was canceled by a bomb scare. Later, police discovered that it was a harmless training device.

BARNETT: But the game was postponed until Tuesday. One man, who travelled from Sierra Leone, would have left empty-handed, if not for the generosity of others.

Earlier, our Christina McFarland spoke to the lucky man.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA MCFARLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The past 24 hours has seen an enormous amount of disruption here, for the security forces, for the police forces that turned out here, and for the bomb squad that was called on Sunday. But none more so than the fans, 75,000 of them, who turned up in the expectation of seeing Manchester United play Bournemouth only to be under the away. And perhaps none more so, than who traveled a long distance to be here.

This gentleman, Moses, has come all the way from Sierra Leone to be here.

Moses, tell me why was it important for you to come to this particular game?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been a Manchester fan for 25 years. It was my dream to watch a game. I don't want just TV all the time. I want to watch it myself in real life. It's my dream. I've been saving for a year.

MCFARLAND: How much did it cost you to come?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $1,800. Yeah.

MCFARLAND: What was your reaction when you heard the news on Sunday that the match had been canceled for this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be honest, I was heartbroken. You know? I was sad and cried. But to be a -- I understand that the security of the people comes number one. It's right what they did yesterday, safety.

MCFARLAND: The security officer back home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back home, yeah. So, it means a lot to me, when that happened. And I cried because my want my dream to come to pass. But if there's a danger, safety of the people becomes number one.

MCFARLAND: Tell us what's happening to you now? The supporters group is going to step in to help you. Tell us what they've done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They give me hugs. And say, we take you. Gave me accommodations. And got my ticket and I'm going to watchman Manchester United. Tomorrow, and the final, at Wembley. That's the biggest. MCFARLAND: Off to Wembley.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Yeah.

(LAUGHTER)

MCFARLAND: What is the reaction been from your friends and family back home that you're going to two matches, including Wembley? I know they're Manchester United supporters, as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're excited and happy about that. And they want pictures from me, to give them pictures to share what happens here. You know? I will share that with them.

MCFARLAND: It will be a high point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. A big thing. A big history in my life. I will never forget this. This is a big deal.

MCFARLAND: Moses, thank you so much for speaking to us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

MCFARLAND: Enjoy the games.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will.

MCFARLAND: So, a huge disruption. As you can see, a silver lining for one fan in particular.

Christina McFarland, CNN, Manchester.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Turned out great for him.

In sports-crazed South Africa, rugby equals manliness. But now, the first gay rugby club is challenging stereotypes with a new campaign.

BARNETT: Here's David McKenzie.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In South Africa, rugby has always been for manner, rough translation, for real men.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Half of our roster is gay.

[02:55:13] MCKENZIE: The Jersey Cats is Africa's first gay rugby club. And they put on a provocative campaign, posing for the camera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The look perfect.

MCKENZIE: And using the slurs they've heard on the playing field, to break down barriers and to recruit new players.

It gets downright cheeky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The great thing about this rugby game, you're straight, gay, or bisexual, you can be yourself and play on our rugby team.

MCKENZIE: Gay rugby is big with the World Cup and more than 70 teams globally and not here in South Africa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why with are we having conversations 22 years in our democracy where we're talking about inclusion in sport.

MCKENZIE: Even after tonight's loss --

(CHEERING)

MCKENZIE: -- still reason to celebrate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the roughest, toughest looking fairy I've seen in a while.

MCKENZIE: Jersey Cats say it's high time for African rugby's coming- out party.

David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg, South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.

BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett.

More news after the break.

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