[Church:] A warm welcome back to everyone. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.
[Barnett:] And I'm Errol Barnett. We're half an hour into our two-hour block. Here are our top stories right now.
[Church:] West Virginia and Nebraska are the next battlegrounds in the U.S. presidential race on Tuesday. Democrats Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are vying for votes in West Virginia. But Clinton may have a tough time winning in coal country after saying in March she was going to, quote, "put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business."
[Barnett:] And on the Republican side, Donald Trump will be looking to pick up more delegates to help officially secure his party's nomination.
[Church:] Joining me now is Democratic strategist, Chris Kofinis. He's also the former communications director for John Edwards, who ran for president in 2008. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. Good to talk to you.
[Chris Kofinis, Democratic Strategist:] Good to talk to you.
[Church:] Let's start with Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton fighting for the women's vote right now. Trump accusing Bill Clinton of being an abuser of women. Hillary Clinton responding calling him reckless and dangerous. The polls show women not quite sold on Trump yet. So what's Clinton planning to do to exploit this and how might Trump respond?
[Kofinis:] Well, I think you're seeing basically the opening salvo of what will be Trump's strategy. The simple demographic reality is you can't lose as he is in some of the polls at least at this point women by 60 percent to 40 percent. And have a chance to win in a general election. So he is clearly going to try to discredit Secretary Clinton. The problem is, it's not just her positions that Trump is wrong on. It's the misogynistic tone and the statements he's made over the course of decades, especially during this last year, that are going to be really difficult for him to walk back.
[Church:] All this is playing out as Bernie Sanders remains in the race, insisting he will stay right up to the convention. But his tactics appear to be changing. Let's just listen to what he had to say at a rally Monday.
[Sen. Bernie Sanders, , Vermont & Democratic Presidential Candidate:] The greed. The greed and the recklessness that we have seen from people like Donald Trump and Carl Icahn
[Sanders:] Oh, you know Donald Trump. Oh, I get it. You don't think he is a brilliant successful business man who can bring the kind of prosperity to America that he has brought here to Atlantic City. Is that your point?
[Church:] You get the message there. Does this perhaps signal he's going after Trump instead of Clinton from here on? And what does that tell you?
[Kofinis:] He's clearly I think coming to terms with the fact that the numbers aren't there for his nomination. That being said, he clearly wants to be a positive force in the general election. And I think there's been a lot of debate particularly amongst pundits, where dot Sanders voters go. Can Donald Trump win some of them over? The reality is that's not going to be the case because these folks are far more progressive on almost every issue than Donald Trump could ever possibly be. So I think what you're going to see from Sanders, and imagine this is going to be a much more consistent message point, is to make it very clear to his supporters in a very vocal, clear way that Donald Trump is not an alternative.
[Church:] Just finally, what's likely to happen in Tuesday's Democratic primary in West Virginia where the polls indicate a Sanders victory? That must be infuriating for the Clinton campaign.
[Kofinis:] This has been a strange primary season on both sides. The reality is my guess if you had to bet today secretary Clinton would probably lose West Virginia. She may lose some states going forward. But the math just is no longer there. Even if she loses West Virginia by a couple points because it's proportional, it really doesn't change the fundamental position because she's so far ahead in pledged candidates as well as super delegates, it's just simply not mathematically possible for Sanders to win.
[Church:] Chris Kofinis, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.
[Kofinis:] Thank you.
[Barnett:] North Carolina is in a legal showdown with the U.S. government over transgender rights. On Monday, the Justice Department filed a civil rights lawsuit over the state's so-called bathroom law. That law bans people from using public bathrooms that don't correspond with their gender at birth. The U.S. attorney general called it "state-sponsored discrimination that violates federal laws."
[Loretta Lynch, U.s. Attorney General:] You have been told that this law protects vulnerable populations from harm. But that is just not the case. Instead, what this law does is inflict further indignity on a population that has already suffered far more than its fair share. It was not so very long ago that states, including North Carolina, had other signs above restrooms, water fountains, and on public accommodations, keeping people out based on a distinction without a difference.
[Barnett:] Now, North Carolina is defending the law with a countersuit. In announcing that, the governor blasted the Justice Department's action as a "baseless and blatant overreach."
[Pat Mccrory, , Governor Of North Carolina:] We believe a court rather than a federal agency should tell our state, our nation, and employers across the country what the law requires. The Obama administration is bypassing Congress by attempting to rewrite the law and set basic restroom policies, locker room policies, and even shower policies for public and private employers across the country, not just North Carolina.
[Barnett:] Several entertainers, including Bruce Springsteen, have canceled concerts in North Carolina following the passage of this law.
[Church:] We're going to take a very short break here. But still to come, in the Philippines, two presidential candidates have now conceded defeat, leaving a controversial mayor closer to winning the top job. We will have the latest on the election next on
[Cnn Newsroom. Barnett:] Plus, Brazil is struggling with a number of crises as it prepares for the Summer Olympics and a possible presidential impeachment trial. An outlook from Rio is next.