Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jul 1, 2020

Wotta surprise: Russian Premier VLADIMIR PUTIN is getting close to putting together (and getting approval for) a bunch of constitutional changes that would allow him to stay in power until the year 2036. The proposed amendments are being voted on this week --unlike America, Russian polls have been open for a week to help reduce crowds and to bolster turnout amid the coronavirus pandemic. The polls close today (Russian time), but some observers believe it's academic and Putin will get what he wants, no matter what.

The NY Post reports despite the massive rise in new coronavirus cases in Florida, strip clubs will still be able to provide lap dances to customers. How is this possible? Turns out that although there's a ten-foot rule about customers staying apart in strip clubs, lap dances are still allowed because Miami does not consider the intimate, topless sessions to be "a performance." You're welcome.

Question: Is it time for movie theatres to re-open? Looks like many chains are about to allow moviegoers inside. Here's the latest details:

• Cinemark theatres are set to reopen on July 24... but not for new movies; they'll be recycling classic Hollywood titles for the time being.
• Regal Cinemas have pushed back their reopening plans until July 31.

If you're not upset by the coronavirus spreading in the US, here's something that could make you throw up --literally! Now there's a new Chinese flu that's just been identified by scientists there. The strain was originally carried by pigs... but of course, it could spread to humans, according to researchers there. So we could have two outbreaks to watch out for instead of just one. And of course, there's no vaccine for this new strain of flu, either.

Sorry to hear about CARL REINER's passing yesterday at age 98. Reiner was the guy who helped create "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and acted in films including "Ocean's Eleven," "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming" and others. He also directed STEVE MARTIN's "The Jerk" and "All of Me," and was the father for actor and director ROB REINER and two other children.

And if you're in the mood for another pandemic: Philadelphia's Mütter Museum has just created a new exhibit called "Spit Spreads Death: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918-19." Visitors to the museum (which features all sorts of unusual things, like the world's longest large intestine ("the mega-colon"), several conjoined twins' bodies, and slides of ALBERT EINSTEIN's brain, will get a look at the similarities of the two pandemics.