[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Right now, divers reached the cafeteria of the capsized ferry where they think many of the missing students are located. Also right now, Vice President Joe Biden offers support in aid to Ukraine as he visits the regions. We'll have a live report straight ahead. And right now, a major decision coming down from the United States Supreme Court. Justices voting to uphold a controversial Michigan law that bans the use of racial criteria in college admissions. Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington. Dozens more bodies have now been recovered from the sunken ferry off the coast of South Korea. The search official says most of them were wearing life vests. Divers have now gained access to the cafeteria in the interior of the ship. That's where many of the teenage passengers were having breakfast when the accident occurred. Divers believe most of the victims are in this area. So far, 121 are confirmed dead, another 181 people are still missing. Our own Will Ripley, he's joining us from Jindo, South Korea right now where the bodies are being brought to shore and identified. Will, is this strictly a recovery operation now or do they do they still hold out hope of finding survivors?
[Will Ripley, Cnn Correspondent:] They still hold out hope, Wolf, at least officially and publicly. That is the word from the divers. That's the word from officials. It's the word from the company that owns the sunken ferry. They say, well, they still believe that there's the potential there's an air pocket on the ship where somebody even a week into this with frigid, cold waters and very, very dangerous conditions, they think there might be a chance somebody could still be alive. They've been looking for survivors but all they keep finding and bringing back to shore are the dead. And, Wolf, there is a very sad scene playing out here as we speak. It is 2:00 in the morning here. But we just came back to the tent where the bodies are being identified. There is a man speaking into a microphone describing physically what the latest people who they have brought back to shore look like. And even at this hour, in the middle of the night, there are families who are not sleeping. They are anxiously sitting by and waiting to see if that description matches their son or their daughter or their family member. And it is just it is just heartbreaking to see this happen here, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] And we've now learned, Will, that the first distress call actually came from a passenger, not from a member of the crew. Tell us about that.
[Ripley:] Yes, this is a pretty remarkable piece of new information because we have now learned that at 8:52 a.m., a voice described as a young boy who is obviously shaken up by the sound of his voice. He made a call saying that this ferry was in trouble and he thought it was sinking. 8:52 a.m., that time is significant because it is three minutes before the official distress call came from the ship. So, passengers were actually making calls from their cell phones before the ship officially reported that it was in trouble. We know, in those following minutes after 8:52, there were some 20 calls from students, frightened students, onboard the ferry.
[Blitzer:] What can you tell us, Will, about two more crew members now formally being charged?
[Ripley:] We know there are now nine crew members that have been arrested, Wolf. Some of them are speaking out now for the first time defending their actions. They were asked, why did they not deploy more life boats? They said, they didn't do it because the ship was tilting so severely that they were not able to reach the life boats rendering them, virtually, unusable. And also, crew members were asked, why did they think the ship tilted over as it did and began to sink so quickly? They said it was a stabilization issue, is what they believe, without going into further specifics. Obviously, all of that will discussed as the investigation continues here in Jindo.
[Blitzer:] What a story this is. All right, thanks. Will Ripley, reporting from South Korea. Let's go to Ukraine right now. A new pledge from the vice president of the United States, Joe Biden. While meeting with Ukrainian leaders in Kiev, he offered another $20 million in security aid, offered this rebuke for Russia.
[Joe Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] No nation should threaten its neighbor by amassing troops along the border. We call on Russia to pull back these forces. No nation should stoke instability in its neighbor's country. We call on Russia to stop supporting men, hiding behind masks in unmarked uniforms sowing unrest in eastern Ukraine.
[Blitzer:] Vice president Biden, of course, is referring to those reports and those pictures we all saw yesterday involving Russian troops in generic uniforms, helping the pro-Russian militants. Let's turn to our Arwa Damon. She's joining us now from eastern Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Arwa, where do we stand now with that intelligence, with the pro-Russian militants holding buildings in eastern Ukraine?
[Arwa Damon, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Exactly where we always have been, Wolf. These pro-Russian militant protestors have absolutely no intention of backing down. In fact, over the last 24 hours, we've been seeing them fortifying some of their various locations as well. The U.S. ice president was also saying they haven't seen any concrete measures by Russia to try to convince these pro-Russian protesters to surrender the buildings, laying a fair amount of blame on Russia as to why there hasn't been any sort of progress. And there is quite a lot of this blaming, counter-blaming going on here, because the Russians also, and these pro-Russian protesters, are saying that the Ukrainian government itself is not upholding its side of the bargain. So, the stalemate here continues. The organization for security and cooperation in
[Blitzer:] Arwa, there was an incident over the weekend, a shooting at a checkpoint. Pro-Russian forces say they were attacked. What do we know about that? Is that confirmed?
[Damon:] Yes, Wolf, it is. Three pro-Russian protesters who were manning that checkpoint were killed. The funerals for them were held earlier today. People, understandably, emotional, as you can only imagine. And the situation here, no real signs of any sort of de- escalation. There also, yesterday, was yet another takeover of a police headquarters. The police chief seen marched off. He, as far as we are aware, still being detained by these pro-Russian protesters. A slight sign that, perhaps, something may be negotiated is that here, in Donetsk, at the main administrative building that has been under pro-Russian protesters control, they have, seemingly, agreed to at least clear out of two floors so that people could go back to work. But all things considered, Wolf, no significant progress here as this crisis continues.
[Blitzer:] And the crisis is continuing. Arwa, thank you. Arwa Damon, reporting live from eastern Ukraine. We're going to have more on Ukraine a little bit later this hour when Gloria Borger takes a closer look at vice president Biden's trip, what it could mean back here in the United States. Stand by for that. Now, to the search for Flight 370. The visual search for the plane was called off for this day as a tropical cyclone moved toward the search zone. But the Bluefin 21 underwater robot is still in the under now, churning through its 10th search mission. Time though is running out as it has scanned more than two-thirds of the search zone. CNN's Erin McLaughlin is in Perth, Australia with the very latest.
[Erin Mclaughlin, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, today's weather may have had an impact on the aerial search for debris, but it Didn't seem to have too much of an effect on the Bluefin 21, now, as far as we know, in the midst of its 10th dive. Now, as of yesterday, two-thirds of that narrowed search area had been scoured. Still no signs of the missing plane. Some are wondering what are going to be the next steps. Now, an official with the U.S. Navy telling CNN that the key stakeholders are in the early stages of those discussions. There's been talk of a broader search area, possibly introducing more submersibles into the mix to be able to cover more area in a shorter period of time. What they're doing right now is they're searching a six-mile radius around the point of the second ping that was detected on April 8th. They're doing that because it was the strongest of the four pings. But some analysts suggesting perhaps they should search in the areas of the other pings as well. Now, that spokesperson for the U.S. Navy telling CNN that they're planning for as far out as July. So, they are long-term plans but, at the same time, there's a short-term focus. They're focusing on the task at hand. Very important, they say, that the Bluefin 21 either rule this area in or rule it out completely. Meanwhile, weather continuing to be a factor into tomorrow. Forecasters say more showers, more wind could impact the aerial search Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Erin McLaughlin's in Perth, Australia for us. Thanks to Erin. Coming up in a few moments, we'll get our panel of experts here to talk about the growing frustration of the family members of Flight 370's passengers. Just ahead, the captain of that sinking ferry in South Korea told everyone not to move. Did that command cost hundreds of lives? A former U.S. Coast Guard accident investigator standing by live to join us. And later, the vice president, Joe Biden, gives Ukraine a pep talk. Take a closer look at the significance of his message. Our own Gloria Borger is here.