A daily dose of online news from beyond the Beltway.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is in stable condition after being hospitalized over the weekend for chest pains and discomfort. Though the mayor's blood pressure experienced an abnormally high spike Saturday, doctors attributed Daley's scare to "fluctuating hypertension" and have found no evidence of heart problems. Possibly compounding Daley's health concerns is the fact that he has not had a thorough medical exam in 10 years, despite a family history of heart trouble.

"Thank you Al Gore for inventing the Internet." A two-age ad running in today's Wall Street Journal and USA Today for a new Internet start-up company, spoofing Gore's infamous claim. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Apr. 3)

• Daley Faces More Tests
(Chicago Sun-Times, Apr. 1)
• Daley Scare Is Blamed on Hypertension
(Chicago Tribune, Apr. 3)

Mass. Gun Laws to Go Into Effect
With a court battle behind them, Massachusetts officials are prepared to begin immediate enforcement of new rules that would apply strict consumer protection regulations to the gun industry – the first move of its kind in the nation.
• Targeting Guns: Mass. Attorney General to Enforce Strict New Firearms Regs
(Boston Herald, Apr. 3)
• AG to Enforce Stricter Gun Safety Rules
(The Boston Globe, Apr. 3)

As South Carolina March Commences, Egos Abound
Despite a death threat, Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley kicked off a week-long Confederate flag protest march Sunday, leading a crowd estimated to be anywhere between 600 and 2,000 people on a trip to the state capital. Legislators admit that personal egos are as much a roadblock to compromise as politics or ideology.
• Egos Clouding Debate on Confederate Flag
(The Herald-Journal, Spartanburg, S.C., Mar. 31)
• Marchers Begin Trek to Columbia
(The State, Columbia, S.C., Apr. 3)
• 600 Attend Start of Trek to Columbia
(The Post & Courier, Charleston, S.C., Apr. 3)
• Marchers Want Flag Furled
(The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Apr. 3)

Meanwhile, party leaders in the South Carolina House of Representatives revived talks last week to create a permanent Martin Luther King Jr. state holiday, revisiting an issue that sparked bitter debate among legislators last month.
• House Leaders Hopeful About MLK Holiday
(The State, Columbia, S.C., Apr. 1)

Money Rolls in for Incumbent Washington Senator
When he first ran for the U.S. Senate in 1980, U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) spent less than $900,000 and campaigned as a "skinny cat," refusing to accept money from political action committees. But this year, as Gorton embarks on his seventh statewide race, no such restrictions apply.
• Slade Gorton's 'Skinny Cat' Days Are Long Gone
(The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Apr. 3)