Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jul 13, 2011

State politics:

Don't look now, but there might be too many stars on that American flag.
It turns out that North Dakota may not have crossed all its T's and dotted all its I's in the statehood process, the result being, it might still be a territory.
The problem, according to 82-year-old JOHN ROLCZYNSKI, is that the state constitution leaves out key passages about the executive branch that would put it in harmony with the federal Constitution. The flaw has been there since North Dakota was (supposedly) admitted to the Union as a state in 1889.
This has been Rolcynski's baby for years. He's just an ordinary citizen, and he's been calling for a fix since 1995. He has finally convinced state Senator TIM MATHERN to introduce a bill that would fix the wording. It will require North Dakota voters to approve the measure. (Maiman)

With the controversy over same-sex marriage still center stage, a court case set to be filed today seeks to put polygamy in a new light. Well known constitutional lawyer JONATHAN TURLEY will file a lawsuit today that challenges Utah's ban on plural marriages --a question that could eventually end up before the U-S Supreme Court.
Turley's clients are former Utah resident KODY BROWN and his four wives, all of whom currently star in the TLC reality series "Sister Wives." The Mormon faith once claimed polygamy as a religious tenet, but the practice was dropped as a condition of Utah receiving statehood in 1896. (Pacelli)

The 411:

The legend of L-A traffic grows: this weekend, they're closing the 405 Freeway.
Variety reports they're already calling it "Carmageddon."
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is closing a ten-mile stretch of the 405, between the 10 and 101 freeways, beginning at 7 pm Friday through 6 am Monday. This closure is expected to affect everything from work schedules to the opening weekend of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." But cutting into work hours on Monday would have an even greater impact; precisely why there will be a high fine for every ten-minutes the 405 stays closed on Monday.
Getting the word out was not easy. LADY GAGA, ASHTON KUTCHER and DAVID LYNCH were enlisted by the LAPD to tweet about the closure.
Yet business --at least the movie business-- is expected to run as usual. Imax locations at both the Century City AMC and the Bridge theaters are nearly sold out for "Harry Potter." And the Nuart and Regent Theaters are giving out free bags of "Carmageddon popcorn" with each ticket. (AB)

Chic Sh*t:

Just what the world didn’t need -- STEVE BUSCEMI’s giant face on a dress.
A company called Black Milk Clothing has created The Steve Dress, a sleeveless mini-dress printed with the “Boardwalk Empire” star’s face. It sells for $100. Fashionista.com says this same company is famous for making clothes that geeks love. They also made “Star Wars” fans geek out with their R-2-D-2 bathing suits. (Bartha)

The Royal Wedding had a really big effect on brides stateside. According to new research just released by Brides magazine, KATE MIDDLETON is directly responsible for a whole bunch of new wedding trends in America. In addition to long-sleeved lace gowns, some of those trends include:
--52 percent of American brides are more likely to wear a veil.
--There’s a 200 percent increase in inquiries for horse-and-carriage rentals.
--There’s also been a 25 percent bump in sales of red aisle runners. (Bartha)

Survivor: real life:

Was this good timing or what?
The NY Post says a cardiologist was giving a lecture on heart disease in Lewiston, Maine when a guy in the audience had a heart attack. The doc and his handy team of nurses quickly got the man's heart restarted. They sent him off to a hospital and continued with their presentation. (Still)