RECIFE, Brazil — Search crews recovered the vertical stabilizer from the tail section of an Air France airliner that went down in the Atlantic, Brazil’s air force said Monday, a key find that could help locate its black boxes and determine why the jet crashed.

A U.S. aeronautical expert who examined the photos and video of the stabilizer and rudder said the nature of the damage could reinforce the idea that the plane broke up in flight.

Eight more bodies also were found Monday, bringing the total recovered to 24 since the Airbus A330-200 disappeared May 31 with 228 people on board, according to Air Force Col. Henry Munhoz.

Meanwhile, an Air France union urged pilots Monday to refuse to fly Airbus A330s and A340s unless their external speed and altitude monitors have been replaced. An official with the Alter union said there is a “strong presumption” among their pilot members that a sensor problem precipitated the crash.

Air France has said icing of the monitors at high altitude has led at times to loss of needed flying information, but their role in the crash is unclear.

Mexico: Overheating, short circuit are possible fire culprits

A short circuit or overheating in an air conditioning system in an adjacent warehouse may have caused a fire that killed dozens of young children in a day care center in Hermosillo, the state’s attorney general said Monday. Deaths from Friday’s fire rose to 44 on Monday. More than 30 children and adults with severe burns and smoke inhalation were struggling to survive in hospitals in Mexico and the U.S.

California: Indian tribe regains federal recognition

A band of about 600 Indians whose ancestors settled in Northern California thousands of years ago is an official tribe again, a half century after Washington took away the group’s federal recognition. U.S. District Court judge on Monday announced his approval of a settlement that restores federal recognition to the Wilton Rancheria.

FBI director defends use of informants in mosques

FBI Director Robert Mueller said his agency will continue to use informants inside American mosques, despite complaints from Muslim organizations. Mueller told reporters Monday in Los Angeles that investigations in places of worship will be respectful of First Amendment rights, but will continue if warranted by evidence of possible wrongdoing.

North Carolina: Prison for Obama threats

A man has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for twice threatening to shoot and kill Barack Obama in July 2008 when he was the Democratic candidate for president. The U.S. Attorney’s office announced Monday that 48-year-old Jerry Michael Blanchard of Indian Trial also was fined $3,000 and ordered to be under supervised release for three years following his prison term. In Las Vegas, a federal judge in Las Vegas on Monday ordered Daniel James Murray, 36, to be transferred to Utah to face a charge of threatening Obama while at a bank. A prosecutor said federal agents found two knives in Murray’s possession and saw bullet casings on the floor of Murray’s car.

D.C.: Bill giving FDA controls over tobacco passes Senate

A 61-30 Senate vote Monday put Congress in sight of puting the content and marketing of tobacco products under the control of the Food and Drug Administration. The House has already passed a similar bill and resolution of minor differences would send it to President Barack Obama, who supports it. The bill would give the FDA powers to regulate the content of tobacco products, order the removal of hazardous ingredients, restrict the marketing and distribution of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, clamp down on sales to young people, require stronger warning labels and stop use of characterizations such as “light” or “low tar.”

From Herald news services