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Trump Trying to Win Over Jittery Republicans; Baghdad Rocked by Fresh Wave of Attacks; New Push for Syria Peace Process; Bangladesh Arrests; Rugby Club Smashes Stereotypes; Democratic Primaries; Canada Wildfire; Trafficking Survivor Breaks Triathlon Record. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired May 17, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST: Good day to you all, welcome. I'm Robyn Curnow.

Now it is another primary day in the U.S. presidential race. But for Republican candidate Donald Trump, perception counts more than votes. He's

trying to win over skeptical party establishment figures and fend off what he says are unfair media attacks.

Now it's all part of a challenging week for Trump on the campaign trail, as Phil Mattingly now tells us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump changing his tone from bombastic.

DONALD TRUMP, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I went to the Wharton School of Finance, I was a great student. I built a fortune.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): -- to everyday American.

TRUMP: And I view myself as a person that, like everybody else, is fighting for survival. That's all I view myself as. And I really view

myself now as somewhat of a messenger.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): -- as the anti-Trump movement is struggling to find a figurehead, unable to entice a candidate to join the fray with a

third-party run.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A third-party candidacy would be viewed as kind of a silly thing. I don't think it's

appropriate.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): John Kasich, the Ohio governor and former presidential candidate, telling CNN he won't take the plunge.

KASICH: I gave it my best where I am. And just think running third party doesn't feel right. I think it's not constructive.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Billionaire Mark Cuban also contacted about a possible run, also in the no column.

MARK CUBAN, BILLIONAIRE: It's impossible for it to work. There's not enough time to get on ballots. The hurdles are just too great. It was a

ridiculous effort. So I passed.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): For conservatives like Erick Erickson and Bill Kristol, a very real effort with a very small window to get it off the

ground. They need a candidate, donor commitments and a legal pathway, one that includes tens of thousands of signatures just to qualify for ballot

access, all as deadlines loom or, in the case of Texas, have already passed.

Meanwhile, Trump is battling with "The New York Times" via Twitter over their front-page article about his inappropriate behavior with women.

Trump's attorney leaving the door open to filing suit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that is a distinct possibility.

"The Times" standing by their story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our goal was to pull back and say, how does he interact in the office with someone who he's dating or trying to date?

And that was the purpose of our story.

MATTINGLY: And in his attacks on "The New York Times," Donald Trump really deploying the opposite strategy of what you would see from a traditional

candidate, candidates who would want a negative story in a major newspaper off the front page, out of the headlines as quickly as possible.

Donald Trump going the other way and it's an interesting thing to watch, guys, because Trump has clearly decided he wants to make this about Trump

versus the media. That could work for Trump and his team believes that it will work at some point.

But it also matters to the position he puts other Republicans in. We've been talking for the last couple of weeks about how the party will figure

out how to unify behind Donald Trump.

One thing to note: lawmakers and the skeptical ones, even the ones who are behind Donald Trump, now, every single time they run into a reporter, are

answering questions about this "New York Times" story or answering questions about Donald Trump's taxes, are answering questions about whether

or not Donald Trump was his own spokesman and faked it for a period of time.

That is a difficult thing for lawmakers, a lot of whom are running for reelection themselves to face on a daily basis. So while Trump will

continue to attack the media, continue to make "The Times" story an issue that he wants to talk about, those same lawmakers that might not agree with

that or certainly don't want to talk about it publicly, certainly wish he would move on -- back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: OK. Thanks to Phil for that.

Let's now go to our senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter, who joins me from New York.

I mean, Phil makes a really, really good point there. Most politicians, perhaps all politicians, would try and downplay this story and others.

But Mr. Trump's reaction is to go pedal for the medal, go straight after it.

Basically he's doing the opposite of what a publicist would expect to do.

BRIAN STELTER, CNNMONEY SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's absolutely right. A publicist, a strategist would say ignore the story; move on

quickly.

Instead, Trump spent the better part of two days on Twitter, blasting the story and citing evidence that he says proves the story is false. There

isn't really proof the story is false, though.

One of the women, one of the 50-plus people interviewed by "The Times" has said "The Times" spun her words, put them into a negative connotation.

But there are many other women and many other people quoted in the story and lots of supporting evidence for the story. Let's take a look at what

the story actually says, just to be clear about the context.

According to "The Times," the interviews they conducted showed the following about Trump, showed "unwelcome romantic advances, unending

commentary on the female form, a shrewd reliance on ambitious women and unsettling workplace conduct."

None of this is necessarily new. Many of these claims against Trump have been out there for a long time, actually. But "The Times" tried to pull

them all together in a big Sunday front-page story.

[10:05:00]

STELTER: And Donald Trump, a long-time New Yorker, recognized the significance of that giant front-page story. Here's one of his many tweets

about this. This is from last night, as he continued to discredit the story.

He said that, "No wonder 'The New York Times' is failing. Who can believe what they write after the false, malicious and libelous story they did on

me?"

Now "failing" is one of Trump's favorite words. He likes to apply it to all sorts of people and organizations, including "The New York Times" and

other media outlets. But he's once again showing how he's kind of playing an anti-media strategy while at the same time taking great advantage of the

media.

CURNOW: Indeed. You make an excellent point there. And that anti-media strategy, in many ways, is one of the few unifying topics that Trump shares

with many Republicans because this is a Republican strategy to attack so- called liberal media bias. And Mr. Trump is playing into that.

STELTER: Yes, I think it's crucial to keep that in mind. Levels of trust in the media are at record low levels in the U.S. and also in the world, in

some cases, but especially in the U.S., there's a deep amount of distrust and mistrust of the press, especially among GOP primary voters.

It helps to beat up on the media, whether for legitimate reasons or not.

You think about a Venn diagram, right, and if you have Trump supporters and then believers of "The New York Times," readers of "The New York Times,"

there's not a ton of overlap. So this might make sense from Trump's perspective.

But looking forward, looking to the general, all eyes are on what's going to happen between him and either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. And

every political strategist wonders, well, what's the point in Trump playing only to his base and now trying to appeal to undecided voters?

That of course assumes that there's a strategy behind this. And I'm not sure you can assume that about Donald Trump. Sometimes what he's doing is

simply counterpunching, simply speaking his mind, not necessarily thinking seven or eight or nine steps down the road, the way other candidates might.

CURNOW: Yes. And some say that is effective. But as you say, the woman's vote, female vote, has played such a huge part of the general election. It

will be interesting to see how they turn out, how this impacts on their decision --

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: Yes, and this won't be the last story that's done on this topic about Trump and women.

CURNOW: No, I agree with you.

Brian Stelter, as always, thanks so much for putting everything in perspective.

STELTER: Thanks.

CURNOW: Well, it's been such a violent day in Baghdad, it's actually been hard to try and keep track of the attacks. Markets in three neighborhoods

were hit and more than 20 people killed.

ISIS claimed one of the blasts, going after yet another soft target, as the U.S. says the terror group has lost nearly half of its ground in Iraq.

Well, CNN's Arwa Damon has reported extensively for us from Iraq. She's following the latest developments from Turkey.

Hi, there, Arwa. There are these reports that ISIS is on the back foot, losing territory.

So are these attacks an example of them trying to pick on soft targets?

This is easy stuff for them.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is easy stuff for them to a certain degree, Robyn.

But then there's also the psychological effect that these kinds of attacks do have on a population that already has seen so much violence in and of

itself and then there are of course growing concerns that ISIS is trying to capitalize on the political chaos that exists, the vacuum that that

political chaos generates and the ongoing sectarian tensions that do exist between Iraq's Sunni and Shia communities.

The issue with using terminology such as "back foot," that the U.S. does quite often is that ISIS has been an entity over the years that has proven

its capability to morph and adapt itself. And sure, they may be under pressure in some parts of Anbar province, other parts of Iraq.

The Iraqi security forces have, yes, managed to gain territory back from ISIS, of course that is largely due to the support they're getting from the

coalition and the airstrikes that the coalition is providing.

But ISIS is an entity that every single time its preexisting manifestations have been described as losing or weakened -- and I'm referring to Al Qaeda

in Iraq and the Islamic State of Iraq.

They have managed to regroup and come back even stronger than before. This also could be a strategy by ISIS to try to force the Iraqi government and

the security forces to focus on securing the capital, to draw them away from the various different front lines, to try to create an environment in

Baghdad.

That would dictate a need for additional Iraqi security forces and, thereby, perhaps try to ease some of the pressure they that are under. But

it's still a very tricky situation, especially for the population that, at the end of the day, is the one that is truly suffering the most.

CURNOW: Yes, Arwa, so you talk about is this or isn't it a change in strategy. Either way it's an adaptation of what went before and with

Baghdad, if they are focusing on Baghdad, what does that mean?

A security vacuum that they're taking advantage of.

But how does that play into the political turmoil there?

[10:10:00]

DAMON: In Iraq, politics and violence have always gone hand in hand. When you've had political turmoil, when you've had political tensions emerge --

and they do for the most part tend to emerge along sectarian lines -- that political instability is very easily exploited. And then because it is

Iraq and that is the reality that is there, very often does translate into violence.

Or when violence does erupt, it then has a ripple-on effect to generate even more violence with tit-for-tat attacks, assassinations, bombings that

take place in various different neighborhoods because the politicians lack the maturity to try to unite in the face of this kind of violence.

ISIS knows this very well and knows how to exploit this kind of political vacuum that does exist.

ISIS, one of the key reasons that it was able to, in fact, emerge was because of Iraqi politics. It was because of the sectarian nature of

former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's policies, he himself a Shia, just to remind our viewers, having a very harsh hand when it came to the Sunni

population, accused by his opponents of oppressing the Sunni population, of launching raids at random, detaining individuals at random without proper

due cause.

And that was one of the many factors that did allow ISIS to then emerge, gain strength in Iraq and then move into Syria and back into Iraq and gain

the territory that it has today.

So the two are inextricably intertwined when it comes to politics and violence. And focusing on Baghdad not only reminds the population of that

but it also reminds the population of how vulnerable they are, even in their own capital -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, thanks so much. Great to have your perspective, Arwa. You've spent many, many years reporting from Baghdad. Thanks for joining

us.

Well, now for the very tall order of bringing some sort of lasting peace to Syria after five years of devastating civil war. International diplomats

met in Vienna, hoping to get peace talks back on track but nothing concrete was decided. CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us now from Damascus.

So talks, a renewed push for a diplomatic solution; how is that being perceived there on the ground?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, by the population here in Syria, they are obviously very frustrated with the -- of

what they perceive, the lack of progress at the Syria talks, not just at today's event but generally as these talks have been going on.

And you're absolutely right. Today, once again, there was only incremental progress was made, mostly in the field of trying to get access to

humanitarian organizations or for humanitarian organizations to some of these besieged areas. That's something where the international community

wants to take a tougher stance.

But at the same time, Robyn, there was no date set for the indirect negotiations between the Syrian government and rebel groups to continue.

Also a target date for starting a transitional process, which was supposed to happen on August 1st, U.S. Secretary of State Kerry saying that is

exactly that, just a target, not something that is necessarily going to be met.

Now as all of this is going on, the Syrian government says that it has its own reconciliation efforts that it's pushing forward. Whether or not those

are actually working, we had a look. Here's what we saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Like so many places in Syria, the Qadam neighborhood in Damascus is scarred by five years of war. But now some

civilians are returning.

"I was forced out of here three 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 many rebels to latch onto the idea."

The Syrian military claims between 150-200 rebels have defected in Qadam, leading to a dramatic drop in violence.

PLEITGEN: As can you see, there's widespread destruction here in this front line neighborhood but, believe it or not, the military commander for

this district says it could have been even worse. They wouldn't have had the reconciliation program and that the fighting would have gone on even

longer.

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 strengthen

a nationwide cease-fire in Syria and jumpstart the political reconciliation process for the whole country.

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

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

"The names in green are the ones who have been accepted into national reconciliation," he says. "So they are now free to go anywhere without

fearing punishment."

While this project may have yielded some --

[10:15:00]

PLEITGEN (voice-over): -- results, in this neighborhood of Syria's capital, the U.N. believes only nationwide reconciliation, backed and

supervised by powerful nations like the U.S. and Russia, can overcome the distrust between the warring factions and move the effort to end Syria's

civil war forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And that's exactly what the U.N. says is the problem with projects like that one, is that they believe that it interferes with the

process that they believe has to happen in the entire country.

At the same time, Robyn, interestingly, the Russians are actually doing something similar. They say that they've already come to agreements with

dozens of groups, especially in the north of Syria, also for local reconciliation agreements.

But, again, the U.N. not thrilled about that happening. The U.S. also as well.

One of the interesting things that Secretary of State John Kerry said today in a press conference after the meeting that happened, he said that the

Assad government has to come to some sort of political terms with the opposition; otherwise, this whole war is never going to end.

It was also interesting; Sergey Lavrov was asked whether or not the Russian government, specifically, endorses President Assad and he said the Syrian

government is not supporting Bashar al-Assad; it's supporting the Syrian army against what he calls terrorism. So certainly a lot of interesting

nuances in those talks today.

But, again, very little headway to be seen.

CURNOW: OK. Great to have you there on the ground in Damascus, reporting live from Syria, Fred Pleitgen. Thanks so much.

Well, just ahead at the INTERNATIONAL DESK, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders battle it out in two more state primaries. What's at stake and why

these stakes are so crucial.

Plus this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

team.

CURNOW (voice-over): We'll show you what Africa's first gay rugby club is doing to shatter sport stereotypes and recruit new players.

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CURNOW: Life in Britain would be bleak if the country left the European Union. Now that's according to David Cameron. The prime minister put his

case before members of the World Economic Forum just a few hours ago.

He says he wants to dispel what he calls myths surrounding the Brexit and he warns a vote to leave could please the leader of ISIS. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER, GREAT BRITAIN: Who would be happy if we left?

Putin might be happy and I suspect al-Baghdadi might be happy. But our friends around the world are giving us a very clear message. They're

saying, it's all up to you. It is your sovereign choice.

But our friends in Australia, in New Zealand and America and all around the world, they're all around Europe. They're saying it's all up to you. It's

all your choice. But we'd like you to stay. We think it's good for us and it's good for you.

CURNOW: That choice, that referendum --

[10:20:00]

CURNOW: -- is on June 23rd.

Meanwhile, new arrests have been made in Bangladesh after a series of machete killings there. Four people were arrested in connection with the

April hacking death of a university professor. It's just one of many killings that have been blamed on Islamist fundamentalists.

CNN's Alexandra Field recently spoke to a professor's daughter to find out why the father was targeted.

First, though, we must warn families watching this that some of the video is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He loved music. He loved to write. Our life has become, truly speaking, it has become colorless, from a rainbow to a

colorless effort. And I'm not sure whether the color will return.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An English professor, brutally killed, the end of what his daughter calls "a beautiful life."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's how simple he was.

FIELD: These are beautiful photos.

FIELD (voice-over): Now new images are burned on her brain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three hours it was he laid there, slaughtered.

I can express my emotion as a daughter, seeing that picture, his picture lying on road.

FIELD (voice-over): This is the spot where Rezaul Karim Siddique was killed. You can actually still see the blood on the wall. It's not far

from his family's home. He was out here, waiting for a bus, when a group of attackers hacked him to death.

Police have made several arrests linked to the case but they say they're still investigating. ISIS claimed responsibility for the murder, saying

Siddique promoted atheism.

FIELD: Why would someone like him be targeted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My father was a believer. There's no cautions or doubt. There is no doubt.

FIELD: He wasn't an atheist?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he wasn't an atheist, that is. But he was interested in music. And a conflict in Bangladesh is growing nowadays,

that those people who are interested in music, culture, they are not believer in religion or something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

FIELD (voice-over): All over this campus where Professor Siddique taught English, there are signs of pain and also of protest. This one says,

"Justice delayed is justice denied."

Here's what's happening in the aftermath of his death. There are students and also professors from all over the country, who are coming out here to

demonstrate. They are calling for justice. And because of that, some of their lives now are being threatened, too.

Siddique supporters fear his death is a sign of growing intolerance. They're angered by failures to prosecutor in a spate of recent hacking

deaths. The victims include secular bloggers, LGBT activists and religious minorities. Many of the killings claimed by Islamist extremists.

FIELD: Are you afraid for your family?

Are you concerned for your safety?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm (INAUDIBLE). I'm concerned for my family because the situation in Bangladesh is growing day by day.

FIELD (voice-over): Even in a state of fear, she tells us, she'll stay in her father's house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His spirit is watching me and he will feel pain if we leave here.

FIELD (voice-over): She is determined to find his killers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will fight until the last to get them what they deserve for their deed. I will fight for that. That's for sure.

FIELD (voice-over): Alexandra Field, Rajshahi, Bangladesh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks to Alexandra for that report.

To Africa now, where some governments punish homosexuality with death. Now the continent's first gay rugby team is launching a bold, new recruitment

campaign that pokes fun at common homophobic slurs. Well, David McKenzie joins us now from Johannesburg.

Hi, there, Dave. We're both South Africans. We know South Africa's pretty progressive when it comes to gay rights.

But still, I can't think of any sportsman who has come out as openly gay.

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly there haven't been any nationally recognize sportsmen who have done that, Robyn. You're right.

And, as you know, the country of South Africa is sports mad and often, particularly men's sports, there's a certain level of homophobia and rugby

is considered the most manly sport of it all. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE (voice-over): In South Africa, rugby has always been for Mana.

Rough translation: for real men.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of our rugby players are gay. It should be open to the gay environment, what have been I think something akin to

(INAUDIBLE) environment.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): The Jozi Cats is Africa's first gay rugby club. And they've put on a provocative campaign, posing for the camera and using

the very slurs they've heard on the playing field to break down barriers and to recruit new players.

[10:25:00]

MCKENZIE (voice-over): It gets downright cheeky.

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

team.

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Gay rugby is big with the World Cup and more than 70 teams globally. But not hear in rugby powerhouse South Africa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are we still having conversations 20 years in, or 22 years into our democracy, where we're still talking about inclusion in

sport?

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Even after tonight's loss, still reason to celebrate.

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

MCKENZIE (voice-over): Jozi Cats say it's high time for African rugby's coming-out party.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKENZIE: Well, Robyn, certainly the Jozi Cats is no powerhouse yet. They are on the amateur side. But they are looking to build up their team. But

the wider point here is that they're trying to be trailblazers to allow other teams to play them except that gays and those friendly to gay rights

should have a place.

And I have to say that, up until this point, they've been welcomed with open arms -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, but when it comes down to it, how much do you think something like this will change attitudes?

As you say, you talk about the Mana.

But do you see an openly gay Springbok rugby player coming out in the near to distant future?

I mean, I don't know if there are any gay players.

But still, do you see that culture fundamentally changing?

MCKENZIE: Well, at this stage, it's too early to tell. Certainly they're trying to push the envelope and there's been a great deal of local press on

their campaign. And they say that helps.

There have been international stars like Gareth Thomas, the former Welsh international, who came out as gay, after his career and as well as Nigel

Owens, the very well respected referee in international rugby.

So there are trailblazers. But a recent study that came out last year that doesn't cover South Africa but does cover countries like the U.S. and the

U.K. says there's still a great deal of homophobia in organized sports, both on the field and in the stands -- Robyn.

CURNOW: OK. Thanks so much. David McKenzie there.

We're going to stay in South Africa. Anger over corruption in the country and the president's alleged hand in it have turned parliament into a boxing

ring. Take a look at these pictures we just got it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW (voice-over): The men in red are members of the opposition party, the EFF. Now they're trying to fight off guards, pulling them from their

seats. The guards came after President Jacob Zuma tried to speak and the EFF refused to let him. They say they don't recognize him as president

after a high court found he'd violated the constitution.

I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN. Much more news ahead.

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[10:30:00]

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CURNOW: Hi, there, everyone. You're watching INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Robyn Curnow. Here's a check of the headlines.

(HEADLINES)

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CURNOW: Now to the Democratic battle for the presidential nomination. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are facing off in the Kentucky and

Oregon primaries. Sanders doesn't need to win to stay viable. He needs to crush Clinton if he wants to catch up to her in delegate count. Chris

Moody joins me now live from Washington.

Hi, there, Chris.

How much is Sanders' continued presence an indication perhaps of weaknesses in Clinton's campaign?

CHRIS MOODY, CNN POLITICS SENIOR DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: I think if you told any Clinton supporter a year ago that she'd still be fighting it out

this late in May in the primary, they'd probably laugh at you. This has been a long and grueling primary for the Clinton campaign.

Bernie Sanders started with very little support in the polls and frankly, he was quite persistent. He has won state after state. Unfortunately for

Bernie Sanders, it probably won't be enough in order to get the nomination. As you mentioned, he not only has to win tonight in both states, he really

has to carry about two-thirds of the delegates going forward.

Now in Kentucky, Hillary Clinton has focused a lot of resources there. She sees this as an opportunity to basically put an unofficial end to this

primary, even though Bernie Sanders would technically still be in contention. She spent a lot of money; she spent a lot of time here, and

her husband won here in the '90s so she, her campaign, expects her to do quite well, certainly better than she did in West Virginia, where Bernie

Sanders won just recently.

CURNOW: While trying to deal with that on one hand, she's also looking towards a general election. And we're getting some idea of sort of

campaign tone to come. Clinton supporters have just released a political ad, targeting women voters.

We're going to play some of it as we talk.

What does this ad tell us?

And clearly the issue of female voters very important bloc in the coming general election.

MOODY: You're right. Clinton has had to face a bit of a two-front war here. She hasn't been able to shake off Bernie Sanders, but also looking

at Donald Trump being the presumptive Republican nominee. Given his history, speaking about women in his role as an entertainer, also there was

a big "New York Times" story over the weekend about his personal interactions with women and then we look at the polling, he does not poll

well -- that's an understatement -- with the demographic. So Hillary Clinton sees a real opportunity here.

I think you look at the ad that we're seeing now against Trump, really hammering home that Hillary Clinton wants to gobble up not just a majority

but a significant majority of female voters. That will make it all the more difficult for Donald Trump to win in November.

CURNOW: What's clear from that ad is that it's a classical political campaign ad, compared to Donald Trump's Twitter and so calling up to

confuse control rooms, as he did to CNN over the week. It'll be interesting to see how these two different styles match up going forward.

I mean, one commentator said this is like asymmetrical warfare, a conventional army versus guerrilla tactics.

MOODY: That commentator is right. We have a little evidence of how that works out and that's called the past Republican primary over the past 6-8

months. Every other candidate tried the old-fashioned way; they spent literally tens of millions of dollars in traditional ads against Donald

Trump.

Obviously Donald Trump is now the presumptive nominee. Those did not work and so there's question about whether Hillary Clinton can face the future

general election and use traditional tactics and whether they will -- they'll work against Donald Trump. Everything his opponents and the media

have thrown at him have just kind of fallen off..

But here's where it gets different here in the general. In the primary, he was dealing just with the base. He was dealing with Republicans. He was

able to secure about 30 percent, give or take, on that side. But now he --

[10:35:00]

MOODY: -- moves on to a much wider group of voters, not just Republicans but independents, Democrats, liberals, conservatives; a big group of people

that he's going to have to appeal to.

The question is -- he can get 30 percent of the Republican votes.

But can he get that much on the general side?

That's going to have to be have to be seen.

CURNOW: Yes. Fasten our seat belts. Chris Moody, thanks so much.

MOODY: That's right.

CURNOW: Turning to Canada now, thousands of oil workers are fleeing from a massive encroaching wildfire in Alberta Province. The blaze is bearing

down on a key oil production area north of Ft. McMurray. The city's entire population, if you remember, was evacuated earlier this month.

CNN's Paula Newton joins me now live from New York.

Hi, there, Paula. You're a Canadian, you live in Canada. This has been a massive wildfire.

We know already 90,000 people have fled and now even more?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And significant repercussions here for the oil industry in Canada. Late last night, thousands of workers were

told to get away from those oil facilities. They did it as a precautionary measure. But some of the anecdotal stories coming out of Canada were

unreal, people saying that they saw flames on the horizon, the smoke.

And if you can imagine, Robyn, the falling ash and a fire that firefighters there say was spreading at a rate of about 130 feet or 40 meters per

minute. The bottom line is those evacuations will continue. They hope to get more control over the fire in the next few days. But it will continue

to impact the oil history and now almost 100,000 people who are out of their homes. -- Robyn.

CURNOW: And you talk about the speed but also the size of this fire and the duration. It's certainly not going to be put out or controlled anytime

soon?

NEWTON: No, the officials continue to refer to it as a beast, as if it had a life of its own. They will continue to fight those fires, they say, well

into the summer, Robyn. And as a climate meeting is going on at the U.N. in Bonn, that -- the U.N. continues to say that whether it's Canada,

Australia or the United States, those kind of fires will continue to grow in intensity and will continue to burn more of the Earth's surface in the

years to come. And predictions, if you look through to the middle of this century, look quite dire right now and something that they continue to do

to discuss as they keep an eye on those wildfires in Canada.

CURNOW: Yes. I think you make a very good point there that this is -- comes -- scientists have been warning about these kinds of fires due to

global warning. And this is certainly not the last. Thank you so much, Paula Newton.

You're at the INTERNATIONAL DESK. Next, CNN's Freedom Project: how one woman escaped from human traffickers and set an endurance record for the

ages.

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[10:40:00]

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CURNOW: A woman who smashed the record for the world's longest triathlon is telling the amazing story of just how far she has come. She's a

survivor of human trafficking, who says she just wants to help empower others.

Well, Kyung Lah has this CNN Freedom Project report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't know if -- what's going to make the final cuts here.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hollywood would have a tough time matching the drama of Norma Bastidas' life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): We're trying to interweave the triathlon with what's happening in human trafficking.

LAH (voice-over): The first woman to run seven of the planet's most unforgiving ultramarathons on all seven continents received plenty of

recognition for the accomplishment but the world record holder didn't quite feel complete until she came forward about her own violent past.

NORMA BASTIDAS, TRIATHLETE AND TRAFFICKING SURVIVOR: I remember being drugged and beat up and almost murdered when I was 24.

LAH (voice-over): Bastidas was actually trafficked twice, once kidnapped and abused in Mexico City and several years later, lured to Japan by a fake

modeling agency.

BASTIDAS: What I didn't know is just that I was being sold to the highest bidder. And I got bought by a very prominent person and I become his

property.

It was hell. It was hell.

LAH (voice-over): The abuses suffered in her younger years might have broken most people but it lit a fire inside Bastidas to do things others

might think impossible.

BRAD FOLEY, IEMPATHIZE: The next thing I know she's on the phone with me, going, I want to do something big for human trafficking and to face this in

my own life and to make it an anthem for other survivors.

LAH (voice-over): In 2014, Bastidas set out to break the Guinness record for world's longest triathlon. Over the course of several months she ran,

biked and swam more than 3,700 miles, traveling from Cancun, Mexico, to Washington, D.C., following a known route of human trafficking victims.

FOLEY: Norma is one of the fiercest women I've ever met.

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LAH (voice-over): Together with the anti-trafficking organization, iEmpathize, Norma's story is now the subject of a documentary called "Be

Relentless."

FOLEY: After all of this, from Cancun, to Mexico city, to D.C., she did her final leg, all through the night, 24 hours straight, almost 100 miles.

And I think what she was trying to tell everyone was sometimes you have to face new challenges, even when you conquer old ones.

BASTIDAS: Human traffic is what happened to you. It's not who you are. Every single time we doubt that a victim has potential, we are saying,

because of what happened, it's your fault. And that's so wrong. We can prove that we can overcome anything. We're here. We're standing.

LAH (voice-over): And that's maybe the greatest ending of all -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Nice way to end the show. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Robyn Curnow. Don't go anywhere. "WORLD SPORT" with Don Riddell is up

next.

END