Karen Jackson and Kiki Stafford were moved to tears as they walked among the items that surrounded Michael Jackson in his final days: The Victorian baby grand piano, the wooden armoire where Jackson had written a note to himself on the mirror, the kitchen chalkboard where his children inscribed the message, "I love daddy."

Jackson, 57, and Stafford, 47, were among dozens of Michael Jackson fans who got an early look at items that will be sold at auction from the singer's final home — and left behind tributes to the King of Pop.

Syrian troops battled army defectors Sunday in clashes that left several military vehicles in flames. The fighting and other violence around the nation killed at least 20 people, the Local Coordination Committees said.

Six people were killed in the central province of Hama, another six in the central province of Homs, three in the northwestern province of Idlib, three in the Damascus suburbs of al-Mleiha and Douma, and two in the southern province of Daraa, the Committees said.

Lady Gaga was in the Christmas spirit at Z100's annual Jingle Ball concert, but her version of "White Christmas" would have made Bing Crosby blush.

Gaga performed a slightly naughty rendition of the holiday classic Friday night as part of her mini-concert at the radio station's event at Madison Square Garden. Gaga — sporting tight studded leather pants, matching top and a bare midriff — gyrated on a set that included antlers, Christmas trees and holiday lights as she performed "White Christmas."

Japan is extending tax breaks for low-polluting vehicles by another three years to help support the nation's mainstay auto industry.

The tax breaks, initially set to end in April, will continue until April 2015, according to a plan approved by the Cabinet on Saturday.

China's exports slowed in November, data released Saturday showed, raising the likelihood of further measures from Beijing to help prop up faltering growth and offset slack demand in the U.S. and European markets.

Exports rose 13.8 percent to $174.5 billion in November, a decline from 15.9 percent growth in October, while China's overall trade surplus plunged 35 percent from a year earlier, to $14.5 billion, Customs statistics said. Imports gained 22.1 percent to $159.9 billion, down from the previous month's 28.7 percent rise.

Authorities say a U.S. man published a fake obituary for his living mother in a ploy to get paid bereavement time off from work.

Relatives called The Jeffersonian Democrat newspaper in Pennsylvania after the obit appeared to say the woman was actually alive and well. The woman herself then visited the paper.

In a reversal of fortunes, a once-unwanted cat has come to the rescue of an animal shelter in need of a new home.

However, this orange-and-white tabby named Daniel is no typical cat. He has a near-record 26 toes, a phenomenon that is helping the nonprofit Milwaukee Animal Rescue Center raise money to relocate to a new building.

A light airplane crashed into a school building Saturday near the Philippine capital after its pilot requested an emergency landing shortly after takeoff, killing at least 13 people, including two children.

The plane burst into flames after hitting the school, said Mayor Florencio Bernabe of suburban Paranaque city.

Radioactive water leaked inside a nuclear power plant in southwestern Japan but did not escape into the environment, the government said Saturday, the latest problem for the country's nuclear industry amid an ongoing crisis at another plant.

The leak Friday at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Genkai plant occurred as Japan continues its attempts to stabilize a tsunami-hit nuclear plant on its northeastern coast where three reactor coresmelted and large amounts of radiation were released into the air and ocean.

A gunman walked down the middle of a street in the heart of Hollywood Friday, firing on passing cars and wounding a driver before police shot and killed him.

The unidentified man, who in video clips had short hair and wore jeans and a white tank top, was pronounced dead at the scene, Los Angeles police Officer Cleon Joseph said. No officers were hurt.