By LOU KESTEN / Associated Press Writer Video games give us the chance to do things most of us couldn’t do in real life, whether it’s throwing an 80-yard touchdown pass, piloting a rocket ship or fighting Nazis. So why not go the extra step and give us superpowers? Alas, the history of video games…

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times acknowledged Tuesday that Geraldo Rivera didn’t nudge aside a Hurricane Katrina rescue worker on TV, and although Rivera called the statement “grudging and ungracious,” he considered the case closed. Rivera had been angry since critic Alessandra Stanley, in a column that ran on Sept. 5, said Rivera…

NEW YORK (AP) — Consumer confidence suffered its biggest drop in 15 years in September as Hurricane Katrina made Americans anxious about the rising costs of heating their homes and filling their gas tanks. The decline raised questions about consumer spending for the rest of this year, including the holiday shopping season. Meanwhile, the government…

NEW YORK (AP) — Search engine leader Google Inc. is delving deeper into an unconventional business, offering an Internet streamcast of last week’s television premiere of Chris Rock’s new comedy. Other online outlets have made network prime-time shows available before, but “Everybody Hates Chris” marks Google’s most high-profile video offering so far. It comes as…

NEW YORK (AP) — Consumer confidence plummeted almost 19 points in September, its biggest drop in 15 years, as Americans worried about the economic fallout of Hurricane Katrina and rising gasoline prices. The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index, compiled from a survey of U.S. households, dropped 18.9 points to 86.6, from a revised…

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The genteel butler that has been Ask Jeeves Inc.’s face for nearly a decade is getting ousted in a corporate takeover. Jeeves, the slightly chubby and balding English butler, isn’t the kind of image that e-commerce conglomerate InterActiveCorp wants representing the Ask Jeeves search engine, according to IAC Chairman Barry Diller.…

CINCINNATI (AP) — TV Guide’s move from a digest-style publication to a full-size magazine will mean job cuts at the suburban Cincinnati company that has printed millions of copies of the magazine over the past 50 years. The 137-year-old S. Rosenthal & Co. will print its final copies of TV Guide next week. The company…

Sparta resident Hubert (Coxie) Mahler, 68, died Sept. 22 at Vanderbilt Hospital.A member of the Church of God of Prophecy, he was the son of the late Walter and Bertha Maynard Mahler, and was preceded in death by sister, Willie Odell Austin.He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Johnson Mahler; sons and daughters-in-law, Hubert Randall…

McMinnville resident and Van Buren County native Hallie Dorene Yates, 82, died Sept. 25 at River Park Hospital after an extended illness.A homemaker, she was the daughter of the late Luther and Austie Fisher Wheeler; and was preceded in death by her husband, Robert F. Yates; grandson, Gregory Priest; son-in-law, Ray D. Priest; daughter-in-law, Norma…

McMinnville resident and Dekard native Gertie Lee Kirby, 83, died Sept. 21 at her home.A grocery store merchant, she was the daughter of Jessie L. and Oney Freeman Graham; and was preceded in death by her husband, Chester C.Kirby; and brother, Floyd Graham; and sister, Edna Newman.She is survived by sons, Kenneth and Sephfronia Kirby,…