Bill Clinton paused during an aid mission to Haiti yesterday to honor Michael Jackson for helping the Democratic Party raise cash at a crucial time.

The former U.S. president, now a special U.N. envoy to Haiti, recalled Jackson's performance at a 2002 fundraiser at New York's Apollo theater.

"He basically helped save my party from terrible financial distress, so he was very kind to me personally," Clinton said during a stop on his tour of a still-struggling northern Haiti, where floods killed several hundred people last year.

Clinton, his face bright red under a scorching summertime Caribbean sun, spoke fondly of Jackson, recalling that the singer performed at his first inauguration in 1993. He also said Jackson had struggled with the burden of early fame.

"He was an immensely gifted man and I think he basically meant well," Clinton told The Associated Press. "I know about all the trouble he had in his life and I hope he will be remembered for his contribution as an artist. I hope his children turn out well. That would be the greatest tribute you could have."

"Slumdog Millionaire" child star Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail and his mother moved into their new home yesterday, leaving behind a corrugated metal slum shanty for four solid walls, doors that lock and an indoor toilet.

"I was shocked when I saw this house," Azhar, 11, said, before turning on one of his favorite Hindi songs and dancing around the living room. "I want to thank Danny Boyle for giving us this flat."

Boyle, the director of the Oscar-winning hit, and producer Christian Colson will transfer the $50,000 one-bedroom apartment to Azhar's name when he turns 18, provided he finishes school, the Associated Press reports.

Officials from the trust -- set up by the filmmakers to secure an education, housing and a living allowance for Azhar and his co-star Rubina Ali, 9 -- are actively searching for a new home for Rubina as well.

The promotion for Dan Brown's new thriller will itself be a bit of a puzzle.

Publisher Doubleday announced yesterday that Brown's "The Lost Symbol" -- his first novel since "The Da Vinci Code" -- will be preceded by a summer-long procession of "codes, cryptic trivia, puzzles, secret history, maps, aphorisms" and other daily teasers on Facebook and Twitter.

The book, which comes out in the fall, will be set in Washington, D.C., and will feature "Da Vinci Code" protagonist Robert Langdon, again caught up in secret societies and hidden codes.

"The Da Vinci Code," released in 2003, has more than 80 million copies in print worldwide.

"The Lost Symbol" has an announced first printing of 5 million.

Casey Kasem has done his final countdown.

The 77-year-old DJ told "American Top 20" listeners across the country Saturday that the program would be his last.

Kasem launched his weekly countdown of the nation's most popular songs, the "American Top 40," on July 4, 1970. Ryan Seacrest took over the show in 2004, and Kasem went on to host two syndicated spinoffs, the "American Top 20" and "American Top 10."

Kasem said he "loved every minute" of his broadcasting career, but that he was leaving the show to "free up time I need to focus on myriad other projects."