Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe OH, THOSE BUSH GIRLS! Another Bush daughter is in trouble with the law. This time it's Noelle Bush, the 24-year-old daughter of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, President Bush's younger brother. Advertisement The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reports Noelle Bush was arrested early Tuesday when she allegedly tried to fill a forged prescription for Xanax, an anti-anxiety medication, at a drug store in Tallahassee. She was charged with fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance and released pending a court appearance. In a statement, Bush and his wife said they were "deeply saddened" by the incident and requesting privacy. "This is a very serious problem. Unfortunately, substance abuse is an issue confronting many families across our nation," it said. "We ask the public and the media to respect our family privacy during this difficult time so that we can help our daughter." Noelle is the Bushes' only daughter, but they have two sons. Advertisement THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND Astronomers at John Hopkins University in Baltimore say the true color of the universe is somewhere between "pale turquoise and medium aquamarine," New Scientist reports. Ivan Baldry and Karl Glazebrook found the cosmic color by combining light from more than 200,000 galaxies within two billion light years of Earth. They worked with data from the Australian 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey at the Anglo-Australian Observatory in New South Wales, Australia. Combining the light gave a spectrum with a peak in the blue part of the optical spectrum -- due to the large number of young stars burning hydrogen -- and another in the red part of the spectrum -- due to the glow of older red giants burning heavier elements. Researchers can analyze such spectrums like fossils, to reveal the history of star formation in a given galaxy. But this is the first time anyone has calculated a spectrum for enough galaxies to be representative of the whole universe. Baldry and Glazebrook worked out how their spectrum would appear to the human eye -- which is not equally sensitive to all wavelengths of light -- and came up with the color pale green. Advertisement (Thanks to UPI's Alex Cukan in Albany, N.Y.) NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS Sarah Jessica Parker and Bruce Willis are the Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals woman and man of the year. The stars of "Sex and the City" and the upcoming movie "Hart's War" will receive their traditional pudding pots at separate ceremonies next month. Parker gets a parade through Harvard Square on Feb. 7 leading up to the presentation at the Hasty Pudding Theater. Willis gets his honor one week later. The club said it is recognizing Parker not only for her talent, but also for being a "dedicated humanitarian." The actress serves as national ambassador for the U.S. fund for UNICEF. (Thanks to UPI Hollywood Reporter Pat Nason) TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING A Catholic priest known as "Father Jeff" and two Iowa men have been charged with manufacturing and distributing GHB, commonly called the "date-rape drug." Jeffery Windy, 31, pastor of two small parishes in northwestern Illinois, was arrested last Friday night. Timothy O'Brien and Bradley Bush, both of the Davenport, Iowa, area, also were charged with making liquid gamma hydroxybutyrate, known by the street names "Liquid X," "Goop," "Grievous Bodily Harm" and "G." Advertisement A teaspoon of the depressant can cause euphoria, drowsiness, dizziness and hallucinatory states. GHB is called the "date-rape drug" because sex abusers use it to render a person unconscious. The Diocese of Peoria confirmed the arrest in a statement and is cooperating with police and federal authorities. "The diocese is currently working to provide pastoral care to the parishioners of St. Patrick's and St. Margaret's who have suffered a great shock and sadness this past weekend," church officials said. St. Patrick's Church in Sheffield, Ill., and St. Margaret's in Wyanet, Ill., are part of the Peoria Diocese. Each town has about 1,000 residents. The Peoria Journal-Star reports police began an investigation in May 2001 after receiving a tip that Windy and O'Brien were manufacturing GHB at O'Brien's home in Davenport. AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY The world has a new Matzo Ball Eating Champ. Oleg Zhornitsky of Brooklyn, N.Y., was crowned the Ben's Kosher Deli's 2002 Matzo Ball Eating Champion Tuesday after polishing off 16 1/4 matzo balls in five minutes and 25 seconds. Zhornitskiy was presented with the coveted matzo ball eating trophy and the seating rights for one year to the reserved "Chair of Champions" at Ben's Kosher Deli in Manhattan. He also gets a $2,500 gift certificate and an autographed New York Islanders jersey. Advertisement Eric "Badlands" Booker of Copaigue, Long Island, came in second, downing 15 3/4 matzo balls. The Annual Charity Matzo Ball Eating Contest raised more than $10,000 for the Interfaith Nutrition Network.
