German authorities are searching for a killer in what is being called one of the worst cases of animal cruelty in the country's history. Since last year, more than 40 pet bunny-rabbits have been killed in the night in their outdoor hutches. Horrified owners found their beloved pets decapitated and drained of all their blood in many cases. The killer takes the head and collects the blood, leading investigators to think that the animal killer is involved in the occult or Satanism.

Jeff Taylor, the founder of online job site Monster. com, is now touting his latest Internet project: online obituaries. Taylor said his newest venture, Tributes. com, is aimed at moving death notices from the newspaper to the Internet. Unlike Legacy. com, which is owned partly by the Tribune Co. and receives fees from 650 newspapers to publish online death notices, Taylor intends to obtain obituaries directly from funeral homes and earn revenue by selling advertising, among other ways.

It will be a hot summer in this Chicago neighbor this year, not only because of the rising temperature but a ban on window-mounted air conditioner units. The prohibition is the result of an ordinance approved by the village board in March. It specifically banned the installation of window-mounted air coolers on walls that face the street or in side windows 12 feet or less from the street.

Lovers of historical homes and buildings could be tested on how much they truly appreciate authenticity, that is, if they are interested in buying a Georgian style home that was recently put on the market, because it comes complete with a human skeleton entombed in the basement. When the home was built in the Georgian era, part of the basement was found to be the remnants of a Roman burial chamber. Workers built around it, and today the skeleton is visibly entombed in an archway.

A controversial plan for a 54,000-square-foot mansion proposed by Russian mogul Valery Kogan was rejected by officials after receiving a flurry of complaints from neighbors saying the house would be too large. The permit was denied Tuesday by the Greenwich Planning and Zoning Commission, halting construction of what would have been the largest single-family residence since the city began reviews back in 2001.