Monster Mash: New York approves new skyscraper to rival Empire State; Kevin Spacey to play ‘Richard III’

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-- Changing skyline: New York’s City Council has approved a new skyscraper by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects that will rival the Empire State Building. (New York Daily News)

-- Prestige project: Sam Mendes will direct Kevin Spacey in a stage production of Shakespeare’s ‘Richard III’ in 2012 as part of the transatlantic Bridge Project. (Theatermania)

-- Cracking down: Egyptian officials said they will implement strict measures to protect Egypt’s cultural and archaeological riches following the recent theft of a Vincent van Gogh painting. (Agence France-Presse)

-- Send in the diva: Bernadette Peters, who is winning raves in ‘A Little Night Music’ on Broadway, has been cast in another Stephen Sondheim revival -- ‘Follies,’ at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. (Playbill)

-- Gearing up: Venice’s prestigious architecture festival the Biennale is scheduled to open on Sunday. (BBC News)

-- Beloved character: The original Kermit the Frog puppet has been donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. (CNN)

-- Willing participants: Hundreds of people have applied to spend a month in Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry as part of a live experiment. (Chicago Sun-Times)

-- And in the L.A. Times: The Nazi-era Nuremberg Laws are moving from the Huntington Library to the National Archives; music critic Mark Swed reviews Leonard Slatkin and Sarah Chang at the Hollywood Bowl.

-- David Ng