Monster Mash: Heath Ledger museum exhibition planned in Australia; standoff over Nefertiti bust

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Forever young: An exhibition devoted to the late actor Heath Ledger is in the works for a 2012 opening at the WA Museum in Perth, Australia. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Diplomatic standoff: A German foundation has rejected a request by Egyptian officials to return a 3,400-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti. (Reuters)

Hard times: Americans for the Arts paints a glum picture of the cultural health of the U.S. (Los Angeles Times)

Musical controversy: Pianist Lang Lang responds to criticism that a song he performed at a recent White House state dinner was intended as a slight to his American hosts. (Los Angeles Times)

Money trouble: The Jersey City Museum has closed its doors after being hit hard by budget cuts, falling donations and more. (Newark Star-Ledger)

Investigation: The renovation of the historic Lyric Theater in Miami has been halted as Miami-Dade prosecutors look into allegations that the project’s construction manager pilfered hundreds of thousands of county dollars. (Miami Herald)

Tee-hee: Police have forced an Ohio teen to remove a seven-foot phallic snow sculpture from his front yard. (The Chronicle-Telegram)

Also in the L.A. Times: Playwright-filmmaker Neil LaBute will do a live chat with Culture Monster on Feb. 2; theater critic Charles McNulty reviews ‘Jane Austen’s Emma: A Musical Romantic Comedy’ at the Old Globe; music critic Mark Swed reviews Louis Lortie at Segerstrom Concert Hall.

-- David Ng