The Austro-Hungarian empire may be long dead but Viennese high society was back with a bang Thursday for the annual waltzing, music and show-off extravaganza that is the Opera Ball.

Dressed up to the nines and paying through the nose, the high point of the social calendar sees celebrities, politicians and tycoons rub shoulders with aristocrats and nervous debutantes.

The music world gathers in Los Angeles on Sunday for the Grammys, with oddly-punctuated indie pop band fun. hoping to win big at the industry's top awards show -- as long as they keep their clothes on.

Elton John, Taylor Swift and Mumford & Sons are among a galaxy of stars to take the stage at the Staples Center -- albeit with a warning not to show too much flesh, be it breasts, nipples or the dreaded "buttock crack."

Michelangelo's David stands proud next to the Eiffel Tower in a Chinese display, flanked by the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army -- all made of chocolate.

The edible exhibit reflects not only how badly confectionery sellers want to reach the world's most populous country, but also what tremendous effort it takes.

New York Fashion Week injected a bit of color and glamor into wintry Manhattan on Thursday, with the first of 300 autumn-winter collections for men and women unveiled on the runways.

The opener was Nicholas K, with BCBG Max Azria and Kenneth Cole also in the first day's line-up, before a long weekend unfolds with stars like Alexander Wang ready to unveil their latest designs.

Selena Gomez sat front and center at the fashion show to preview the first collection in her collaboration with Adidas' streetwear Neo label.

But the runway at Wednesday evening's show was a next-gen catwalk: Teenager bloggers were charged with styling the outfits instead of industry professionals.

Toni Braxton's autistic son makes his acting debut in her new Lifetime movie, "Twist of Faith," and could have had a bigger role, but the singer didn't want to put too much pressure on him.

"He was supposed to play my son initially but by the time we worked out the shooting schedule, school had started," Braxton said of 9-year-old Diezel. (She also has an 11-year-old named Denim.)

Tim McGraw is free.

The country star has moved on from a troubling label, quit drinking and grown up a bit, and all that has given McGraw a new energy he says you can hear on his latest album, "Two Lanes of Freedom."

Elton John will join fellow British stars Mumford and Sons in a Grammys tribute to Levon Helm, the late drummer and singer with The Band, organizers announced Wednesday.

Announcing the latest details of music's biggest awards show Sunday, they said Zac Brown, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes, and Mavis Staples will also perform in honor of Helm, who died in April 2012.

Disney won over more fans on Wall Street with its latest quarterly performance, despite a slight drop in its earnings.

The downturn announced Tuesday was less pronounced than the modest dip analysts anticipated as Walt Disney Co. digested higher programming costs at its ESPN television network and dealt with a less appealing line-up of home video releases in its movie studio. Higher expenses for distributing box-office hits such as "Lincoln" and "''Wreck-It-Ralph" also created a drag during the holiday-season quarter.

Chris Brown is set to return to court Wednesday to face a prosecutor who is asking a judge to revoke the singer's probation because investigators say they could not find credible evidence he completed his community labor sentence for the 2009 beating of Rihanna.

A motion filed Tuesday raises for the first time in Brown's felony assault case several incidents that prosecutors say demonstrate Brown has continuing anger management issues.