Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Mar 2, 2018

Fashion Emergency:

The stars are expected to wear anti-gun-violence pins at Oscars Sunday night. The Hollywood Reportersays MICHAEL BLOOMBERG'S advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety has created anti-gun violence pins for celebrities to wear to the Oscars on Sunday.
Since the Parkland, Florida, high school massacre that left 17 dead last month, thousands of young people have called upon the organization to support their efforts to advocate for more stringent gun control laws and other public safety issues. According to one celebrity fashion stylist, the pins have been sent to key Hollywood agencies to dole out prior to the red carpet. Time's Up pins, which were first worn at the Golden Globes in January, are also expected to be worn on the red carpet in support of the legal defense fund that assists women fighting sexual harassment. (Bartha)

Look for the folks from the "Time's Up" to also show up during the telecast for the Oscars on Sunday. SHONDA RHIMES, LAURA DERN, AVA DuVERNAY and TESSA THOMPSON were among the leaders of the movement who briefed the media yesterday about the work and efforts made in the two months since the organization launched its legal defense fund at the Golden Globes.
That fund has now reached $21-million dollars and can also be used by members of other groups, including agriculture, hospitality, restaurants and technology.

Taking everything much too seriously:

A group of women in Mexico got married to trees.
The brides --all activists-- say they chose trees as grooms to draw attention to illegal logging. Tree bride DOLORES LEYCIGI called the nuptials a serious statement about the future of Earth. The women made it clear that marrying a tree is a "serious commitment." But, it turns out the weddings weren't legally binding.
Editor's note: I wonder how many of them ended up with splinters on their wedding night! (Still)

Food and Nutrition:

Nuts may hold the key to beating colon cancer. That's from a new Yale University study in which people who'd had colon cancer and regularly eat tree nuts --such as almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, cashews and pecans-- are at "significantly lower risk" for the disease recurring than those who don't. Researchers followed 826 people who had suffered stage three colon cancer for an average of 6.5 years after surgery and chemotherapy. Patients who ate at least two one-ounce servings of nuts each week had a 42-percent improvement in disease-free survival and a 57 percent improvement in overall survival. (Bartha)