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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - An Italian greyhound that spent eight months on the lam is back in his southwestern Illinois home after being returned from where he turned up more than 900 miles away.

   Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis (http://bit.ly/Y9rhBc) reports 5-year-old Dauz went missing from the Dausman family's fenced Collinsville yard in July of last year, only to turn up last month at an animal shelter in Fairfax, Va.

   Alicia Dausman believes Dauz was stolen by a friend's family member who temporarily was living with them.

   Dauz was reunited after the Virginia shelter scanned the digital identification chip implanted in the dog's neck and notified the family.

   Dausman says the pet is thinner, lighter in color and barks raspier, but appears happy to be home.

LONDON (AP) - Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whose conservative ideas made an enduring impact on Britain, has died. She was 87.

   Her former spokesman says Thatcher died this morning of a stroke.

   Thatcher, the country's first female prime minister, re-made Britain's economic landscape after coming into office in 1979 with a free-market philosophy and the goal of privatizing state industries. And she would wage some hard-nosed battles with the country's labor unions.

   Her influence was felt long after she left office in 1990. Tony Blair, whose Labor Party languished in opposition as the Conservative Thatcher held power for more than a decade, ended up adopting many of her views.

   Thatcher's forceful personality and hard-driving style earned her the nickname of the "Iron Lady." It was a term that was reinforced when she led Britain into war against Argentina in 1982 after the Argentines invaded the Falkland Islands. She forced them to retreat.

   In 1984, she escaped a brush with terrorism. An I-R-A bomb exploded in a hotel hosting the annual conference of the Conservative Party. It narrowly missed Thatcher, but killed five others.

   The badly-divided Conservatives eventually pushed her from power in 1990, and the party has struggled since then to regain its footing.

   In her later years, she grew frail after a series of small strokes, and gave up most public speaking on the advice of her doctors.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri House has approved legislation intended to restrict use of aircraft for surveillance of people, farms and homes.

   Law enforcement officials could use manned aircraft or unmanned aerial drones to gather evidence if they have a warrant or to prevent immediate danger. Journalists and news organizations would be barred from using unmanned aircraft for surveillance unless they have permission from the property owner.

   Thursday's 87-66 House vote sends the bill to the Senate.

   Supporters say the legislation seeks to protect privacy rights and prevent unwanted surveillance. Opponents said Thursday that the measure could hamper law enforcement.