Danny Puff

VATICAN CITY (AP) His arms outstretched in a symbolic embrace, Pope Benedict XVI blessed tens of thousands of cheering people on Sunday in one of his last appearances as pontiff from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square.

Last week, 85-year-old Benedict shocked the world by announcing his resignation. He will step down on Feb. 28, planning to retreat to a life of prayer in a monastery behind the Vatican's ancient walls.

The noontime appointment in the vast cobblestone square also served as a kind of trial run for how Rome will handle the logistics, including crowd security, as the city braces for faithful to flock to Rome for the election and installation of the cardinal who will succeed Benedict as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said upward of 100,000 people turned out Sunday and that everything went smoothly. But while there was still space in St. Peter's Square for more, many couldn't get in or easily out because entrances from the main boulevard were just too narrow.

The huge crowd including parents with babies in carriages and strollers, elderly people using canes, and the disabled in wheelchairs tried to squeeze through two spaces police left open in the metal barricades edging the square. Some people panicked or called out to police to help them get in or out of the square.

Pilgrims and tourists had an easier time if they entered through spaces in the elegant colonnade that architect Gianlorenzo Bernini designed to cradle the sides of the St. Peter's Square.

Benedict seemed touched by the outpouring of affection after his decision to go down in history as the first pontiff in some 600 years to resign. The pontiff told cardinals last week that he no longer has the mental and physical stamina to vigorously shepherd the church.

Looking into hazy sunshine Sunday, he smiled shyly at the sight of the crowd below, filled with pilgrims waving their countries' flags and holding up banners with words of support. One group of Italians raised a banner which read: "We love you."

Speaking in Italian, the pope told the cheering crowd: "Thanks for turnout in such numbers! This, too, is a sign of the affection and the spiritual closeness that you are giving me in these days." He stretched out his arms as if to embrace the faithful from across the vast expanse of the square.

Benedict made no direct reference to his departure. But in his comments to Spanish-speaking pilgrims he asked the faithful to "continue praying for me and for the next pope."

The traditional Sunday window appearance normally attracts a few thousand pilgrims and tourists, but this time city officials prepared for as many as 150,000 people seeking to witness one of Benedict's last opportunities to connect with the masses.

Authorities also used the event as a kind of trial run for the crowds expected to flock to the square in the coming weeks for the next pope's installation.

Following tradition, Benedict's successor will make his first papal appearance by stepping onto the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on the square, shortly after puffs of white smoke from the Sistine Chapel chimney tell the world the cardinals have made their secret selection.

On Sunday, extra buses and subway trains ran from Rome's train stations to near the Vatican, and free shuttle vans offered lifts to the elderly or disabled.

Mayor Alemanno has asked Italy's government to put aside its austerity agenda and give Rome a few million euros (dollars) to help pay for security, garbage pickup and other logistics for the Vatican crowds.

On Sunday, several in the crowd were exhausted and shaken by their attempts to get into the square between the metal barriers.

"You can't invite thousands of people and then bottleneck the entrance and exit to the square," said Gianbattista Di Rese, an Italian among the distressed. "Imagine if someone had had a bomb. There could have been hundreds of dead." He got into the square but was stymied trying to get out.

Tourists must go through metal detectors before entering St. Peter's Basilica, but there is no such security to stroll the square.

An Associated Press reporter saw many people give up. Some started to panic and yell at police to do something to ease the bottleneck.

Those who arrived hours before the pope appeared could enter the square with ease for a chance to join in the show of support for him. "We wanted to wish him well," said Amy Champion, a tourist from Wales. "It takes a lot of guts to take the job and even more guts ... to quit."

But some were dismayed that Benedict broke with the centuries-old tradition that popes serve till their last breath.

A youth group Militia Christi (Latin for Christ's Militia) held a hand-painted banner asking the pope to stay. "We are asking him to change his mind. He is the good of the church," said youth GiovanBattista Varricchio.

No decision has been announced on a date for the conclave to elect Benedict's successor, but the Vatican has suggested that it might start sooner than March 15, the earliest date possible under current rules, which require a 15-20 day waiting period after the papacy becomes vacant. This has set off a debate whether such a change could be justified and whether it might benefit Rome-based cardinals who because of their positions at the church's headquarters can count on their acquaintance with cardinals around the world.

"Church law should not be changed on a whim," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, an American Vatican expert. He said changing law "would be disruptive."

On Sunday evening, the pope began a customary week of Lenten period reflection ahead of Easter, and his next public remarks won't come until Feb. 24, when he returns for his final studio window appearance over the square.

In his remarks to the throng Sunday, he told the faithful that during Lent "the church, which is mother and teacher, calls all its members to renew themselves in spirit, to reorient themselves decisively toward God, rejecting pride and egoism to live in love."

Benedict has chosen an Italian cardinal to preach to him and Vatican clergy during closed-door sessions in this week of meditation and prayer. The prelate, Gianfranco Ravasi, heads the Holy See's culture office and is touted by some Vatican watchers as a leading candidate to be the next pope. But other observers contend he is heavily identified with one of the rival blocs of Italian prelates in the Vatican's apparatus, which could hurt his chances.

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Daniela Petroff contributed reporting.

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BERLIN (AP) A Romanian drama that centers on a woman's effort to cover up her son's responsibility for an accident in which a boy is fatally injured won the Berlin film festival's top Golden Bear award on Saturday.

"Child's Pose," directed by Calin Peter Netzer, emerged as the winner from a field of 19 films that included a strong eastern European contingent this year the 63rd edition of the event, the first of the year's major European film festivals. Netzer said he was "a little bit speechless" at the award.

The tale of corruption and guilt depicts the efforts of an upper-class mother, played by Luminita Gheorghiu, to bribe witnesses to give false statements and keep her son the driver, who was speeding at the time of the accident out of prison.

"This is about a ... pathological relationship between mother and son," he told reporters later. "The rest is really just a backdrop," Netzer told reporters, stressing that it is "a very universal story" and that "corruption is not something which is only taking place in Romania."

A runner-up Silver Bear went to "An Episode In the Life of an Iron Picker," in which a Bosnian Roma, or gypsy, couple re-enact their own struggle to get treatment after their baby died in the womb. The movie was made on a tiny budget by Danis Tanovic, whose "No Man's Land" won the Oscar for best foreign-language film in 2002.

Nazif Mujic, the husband, was voted best actor by the festival jury.

"Of course, I'm not an actor I simply played my own story. I played myself in my family. I don't know what I should say," Mujic, who says that he still has no regular job and collects scrap metal as he did at the time the drama played out, told 3sat television.

Best actress was Paulina Garcia for the title role in Chilean director Sebastian Lelio's "Gloria." Garcia plays a divorcee at the end of her 50s trying to stave off loneliness, rushing into singles' parties but struggling to overcome disappointment.

American filmmaker David Gordon Green was honored as best director for "Prince Avalanche," a movie about two road workers whiling their way through a long, monotonous summer with little more than each other for company. It's a remake of an Icelandic film, "Either Way."

The best script award went to dissident Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi for "Closed Curtain," a movie he co-directed with longtime friend Kamboziya Partovi in defiance of a ban on filmmaking.

The film, in which the two directors play the main roles, reflects Panahi's frustration at being unable to work officially it's set inside an isolated seaside villa, much of the time with the curtains drawn.

Partovi accepted the award on behalf of Panahi, who wasn't allowed to leave Iran, telling the audience that "it's never been possible to stop a thinker and a poet."

The prize for outstanding artistic achievement went to Aziz Zhambakiyev for his camerawork in Kazakh director Emir Baigazin's "Harmony Lessons," which centers on a teenager tormented by his schoolmates.

The festival's Alfred Bauer prize for innovation went to Canadian director Denis Cote's "Vic+Flo Saw a Bear."

A seven-member jury led by filmmaker Wong Kar-wai chose the winners.

Wong said the jury gave "special mentions" to two more films that didn't win awards, acknowledging "the integrity of their vision and their conviction that cinema can make a difference."

Those were Matt Damon's Gus Van Sant-directed drama on shale gas drilling, "Promised Land," and South African director Pia Marais' "Layla Fourie."

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SANYA, China (Reuters) - Placing bets on green-felt baccarat tables in a new casino bar on China's southern Hainan island, punters seem oblivious to a huge wager quietly being placed around them, one that could potentially siphon business from the world's largest gaming hub in Macau an hour's flight away.

For now, players at Jesters casino bar, part of the newly opened Mangrove Tree Resort World on Sanya Bay, cannot win cash - only points that they can use to pay for accommodation, luxury goods, jewelry and artwork for sale at the resort.

Owned by art, film and real estate mogul Zhang Baoquan, the casino bar marks the Chinese government's first tacit approval of a gaming concept outside of Macau. Global investors, including some of the world's biggest gaming companies, are watching to see how the chips will fall.

"Our casino bar is the first in the country. The government is monitoring, it's a test," Zhang told Reuters in a recent interview at his 23rd-floor office overlooking his sprawling 173-acre property that opened late last year.

"Right now we are not at this stage (legalising casino gambling), but my personal opinion is, in future, there is a big possibility that they will have."

The stakes are enormous -- China's monopoly gambling site, Macau, raked in $38 billion in gaming revenues last year, primarily from Chinese gamblers. If Beijing were to allow gambling elsewhere in the country, cash would follow.

It's not just the Chinese government that is watching the development. MGM Resorts International opened a hotel in Sanya last year and fellow U.S. casino operator Caesars Entertainment is set to open a hotel in 2014.

An MGM spokesman said the company had no plan to introduce "anything of this kind". Caesars did not respond to requests for comment.

Dressed in jeans and a black-and-white Hawaiian shirt during his interview, the 56-year-old Zhang said he aims to create an integrated resort similar to those in Las Vegas and Singapore where gaming, convention space and retail outlets are offered together.

Mangrove Tree Resort World, the newest addition to Hainan's rapidly developing hotel scene, will be China's biggest resort when construction is completed next year. It will have more than 4,000 rooms, a convention hall accommodating 6,000 people and facilities including a water park.

It is one of 10 integrated resorts that Zhang is developing around the country, including one more in Sanya and others stretching from Lhasa in Tibet to the eastern coastal city Qingdao.

While the Chinese government does not permit casinos in the country outside of Macau, Zhang - ranked by Forbes as one of the country's 300 richest people in 2012 with $600 million - said Hainan could become an exception.

Sensitive to existing restrictions, the soft-spoken businessman emphasized cultural attractions such as his art gallery that, along with the casino bar, will be incorporated into the planned resorts.

WINNING "MANGROVE" POINTS

Inside Jesters, which models itself on Macau's casino halls with garish chandeliers and a giant roulette wheel ceiling, players buy tickets costing 500 yuan ($80) each. Bets range from 20-2,000 yuan in the mass area, while the high-limits area is set at 2,000-100,000 yuan. Big whale punters will be able to bet over 100,000 yuan once the VIP room opens on the second floor.

The casino bar, with 50 gaming tables now, is currently open only to hotel guests, but when the resort is completed, local residents will be allowed in.

When players win, they receive "Mangrove" points that can be used to buy products available in the casino such as an iPad 3G or a Rimowa suitcase. Once luxury brands open outlets within the resort, customers will be able to spend their points in those stores. Art work from Zhang's Beijing art gallery is also available for purchase.

Retail stores including Prada and Louis Vuitton will be part of a network of 20 luxury stores that will open at the resort next year, Zhang said.

Zhang, president of Beijing conglomerate Antaeus, has the financial backing of China Development Bank. The state lender invested 70 percent of the cost of the Mangrove Tree expansion.

"The local governments are very supportive," says the boyish-looking Zhang, who started off as a carpenter in his hometown of Zhenjiang in eastern Jiangsu province, and now is well known as an arts philanthropist and prominent film investor.

Married to Wang Qiuyang, a mountaineer whose father Wang Chengbin was a former army commander, Zhang said any potential change to gambling restrictions would take time, adding that the government would need to decide whether to let other operators open similar casino bars.

"Gambling culturally is a very bad thing, but today there is a difference -- gambling is a financial tool," said Zhang.

"In Asia, even North Korea has two casinos. The richest country, Singapore, before you would never think society would accept it there. All over the world the attitude towards casinos is different from what it was traditionally."

SANYA AND BEYOND

China is positioning Hainan as an international tourist destination, approving the construction of 15 large resorts and 63 five-star hotels as part of the country's five-year plan.

As Chinese spend their money in new casinos across Asia from the Philippines to Vietnam, pressure is growing on Beijing to keep more gamblers at home.

"To some extent, the approval of gaming on Chinese soil is inevitable," said Gary Pinge, analyst at Macquarie Group in Hong Kong.

"With regional markets already vying for a share of the Chinese gambling wallet, unless China brings gaming onto its own shores, it will not only lose tax revenues to other countries, but also the 'multiplier effect' from the consumption spend."

In the meantime, Zhang is pushing ahead with his expansion plans. Aiming to list the Mangrove Tree brand on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2015, Zhang hopes to use the capital raised to take his Mangrove Tree brand outside of China.

"Sydney, the Maldives, the United States, England, Paris and Turkey" would all be good, said Zhang with a shy smile.

(Editing by Ken Wills)

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NEW YORK (AP) Millions of people have watched Maggie Smith on "Downton Abbey." But she's not one of them.

The 78-year-old actress, who portrays Lady Grantham in the popular PBS series, told "60 Minutes" that she hasn't watched the drama because doing so would only make her agonize over her performance. She said she may watch it someday.

Smith told Steve Kroft, in an interview to be televised Sunday, that what she takes from the role is "the delight of acting."

She has two Oscars, three Emmys and a Tony Award, but said the "Downton Abbey" role has given her more public recognition than anything in her career.

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LONDON (AP) Police have charged a longtime star of the British soap opera "Coronation Street" with child sex offenses including rape and indecent assault.

Michael Le Vell, who has played mechanic Kevin Webster on the show for 30 years, faces 19 charges. Police say the charges relate to offenses against a child between 2001 and 2010.

The actor released a statement Friday saying he would vigorously contest the charges.

"I will now put all my efforts into clearing my name and proving my innocence," he said.

He was originally arrested and questioned in 2011, but released without charge. Prosecutors said Friday they had overturned that decision.

The 48-year-old actor, whose real name is Michael Turner, is due in court Feb. 27.

The soap, set in a fictional working-class district in northwestern England, is one of the most popular programs on British television.

Broadcaster ITV said Le Vell would not appear in any episodes of "Coronation Street" pending the outcome of his trial.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) Kim Kardashian has a due date for her baby and now a trial date for her divorce from NBA player Kris Humphries.

A judge on Friday set a May 6 trial for the reality TV star who wants to end her marriage before July, when her child with Kanye West is due.

Kardashian filed for divorce on Oct. 31, 2011, after she and Humphries had been married just 72 days. Their lavish, star-studded nuptials were recorded and broadcast by E! Entertainment Television.

The trial is expected to last three to five days and could reveal details about Kardashian's reality show empire, which includes "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and several spinoffs.

Two judges determined Friday that Humphries' lawyers had adequate time to prepare for the trial.

Humphries wants the marriage annulled based on his claim that Kardashian only married him for the sake of her show.

She denies that allegation and says the case should be resolved through what would be her second divorce.

Humphries' attorney Marshall Waller asked for a delay until basketball season is over.

But Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon refused, saying firefighters, police officers, truck drivers and others have to miss work for trials, and Humphries must do the same if necessary.

Waller filed paperwork Thursday to withdraw from the case but didn't mention that development in court and refused to answer any questions about the document on Friday.

Waller said he was still hoping to obtain and review 13,000 hours of footage from Kardashian's reality shows to try to prove the fraud claim but noted he does not yet have an agreement to receive the footage.

Kardashian's lawyer said her client was ready for trial.

"Let's get this case dispensed with," attorney Laura Wasser said.

Humphries has provided a deposition in the case, as have West and Kardashian family matriarch Kris Jenner.

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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WASHINGTON (AP) Congress' latest crack at a new assault weapons ban would protect more than 2,200 specific firearms, including a semi-automatic rifle that is nearly identical to one of the guns used in the bloodiest shootout in FBI history.

One model of that firearm, the Ruger .223 caliber Mini-14, is on the proposed list to be banned, while a different model of the same gun is on a list of exempted firearms in legislation the Senate is considering. The gun that would be protected from the ban has fixed physical features and can't be folded to be more compact. Yet the two firearms are equally deadly.

"What a joke," said former FBI agent John Hanlon, who survived the 1986 shootout in Miami. He was shot in the head, hand, groin and hip with a Ruger Mini-14 that had a folding stock. Two FBI agents died and five others were wounded.

Hanlon recalled lying on the street as brass bullet casings showered on him. He thought the shooter had an automatic weapon.

Both models of the Ruger Mini-14 specified in the proposed bill can take detachable magazines that hold dozens of rounds of ammunition. "I can't imagine what the difference is," Hanlon said.

President Barack Obama has called for restoring a ban on military-style assault weapons and limiting the size of ammunition magazines.

A bill introduced last month by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. would ban 157 specific firearms designed for military and law enforcement use and exempt others made for hunting purposes. It also would ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

Yet there are firearms that would be protected under Feinstein's proposal that can take large capacity magazines like the ones used in mass shootings that enable a gunman to fire dozens of rounds of ammunition without reloading.

Feinstein said in a written response to questions from The Associated Press that the list of more than 2,200 exempted firearms was designed to "make crystal clear" that the bill would not affect hunting and sporting weapons.

The December shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., that left 26 students and educators dead forced Washington to focus on curbing gun violence, a risky political move not tried in decades.

The gun industry, which is fighting any sort of ban, says gun ownership in the U.S. is the highest it's ever been, with more than 100 million firearms owners.

Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden have traveled around the country in an effort to gain support for new laws. Feinstein's proposal is the only sweeping piece of legislation designed to ban assault weapons currently being considered.

But some gun experts say the lists of banned and exempted firearms show a lack of understanding and expertise of guns.

"There's no logic to it," said Greg Danas, president of a Massachusetts-based expert witness business and firearms ballistic laboratory. "What kind of effect is it going to have?"

Feinstein's bill defines an assault weapon as a semi-automatic firearm with a detachable magazine that has one of several military characteristics that are specified in her legislation. Examples of those characteristics include a pistol grip, which makes a firearm easier to hold, and a forward grip, which makes the firearm easier to stabilize to improve accuracy. The definition is similar to the one in Congress' original ban on assault weapons, which went into effect in 1994 and was widely criticized for outlawing firearms based on cosmetic features.

Feinstein was behind the 1994 law which, at the time, protected more than 600 firearms. The current bill would exempt by name and model more than 2,200 firearms by name and model.

Feinstein said her staff had worked for more than a year to draft updates for the ban that expired in 2004, and it was apparent in the wake of recent mass shootings that now was the time to introduce a new bill. She said her staff consulted with law enforcement agencies and policy experts for months to create the expanded list.

Naming firearms that would remain legal under an assault weapons ban is a politically motivated gesture that was used to help pass the original ban in the early 1990s, people familiar with the process said.

Any firearm that does not fall within the law's definition of an assault weapon would not be banned. As a result, the list gives vulnerable politicians cover from constituents who do not want to give up their firearms.

For example, a politician can look at the list and assure a constituent that the government would not ban the firearm he or she loves to use for deer hunting. Under the 1994 law and the currently proposed one, the government would not have the authority to take away guns people already legally own. The ban would only apply to specific firearms manufactured and sold after the law is enacted.

A list of exempted firearms was not part of Feinstein's original assault weapons ban two decades ago, said Michael Lenett, one of the lead congressional staffers on gun control issues in 1994. A separate bill in circulation exempted far fewer hunting and sporting firearms, Lenett said.

The purpose of creating such a list was to assure people that the government was not going after any legitimate hunting or sporting weapons. "The other purpose of the list was to have a high profile way of assuring certain folks including legislators that we would not be going after their weapons that they use for those legitimate purposes," Lenett said.

"It was a win-win situation," Lenett recalled, because, he said, if the list could help pick up votes needed to pass the bill and temper some of the opposition, it could assuage some opponents of the ban without making the law less effective.

But gun experts say the lists in 1994 and the expanded lists of today don't make much sense.

"The bill demonstrates a shocking ignorance of the product they are purporting to regulate," said Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association based in Newtown, Conn., that represents gun manufacturers. "I have no idea how they arrived at this list. It would seem to be random, bordering on throwing darts at a dart board."

For instance, Feinstein's current proposal includes exemptions for three specific types of the M-1 Carbine, an assault rifle designed for the military that the U.S. currently bans from being imported. A draft of the legislation, created and modified in November and early December last year, banned the M-1 Carbine and didn't exempt any models, according to a copy obtained by the AP.

Feinstein said there was disagreement among firearms experts, law enforcement and gun safety organizations about whether to include the M-1 Carbine on the list of banned weapons.

"It has been used in multiple police shootings, and was originally used by U.S. soldiers on the battlefield," Feinstein said. "On the other hand, it comes in models that would not meet the military characteristics test." She said she decided to limit banned weapons to those that met the definition outlined in the bill.

At a Jan. 30 hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee on gun violence, National Rifle Association President Wayne LaPierre said Feinstein's bill is "based on falsehoods to people that do not understand firearms, to convince them that the performance characteristics of guns that they are trying to ban through that bill are different than the performance characteristics that they're not trying to ban."

The Ruger Mini-14 is a perfect example.

The model that has a fixed stock would be exempted by Feinstein's ban; the weapon was protected in the 1994 law as well. A Ruger Mini-14 with a collapsible and folding stock would be illegal.

The guns fire the same caliber bullet and can take detachable magazines that could hold dozens of rounds of ammunition. The folding stock only reduces the gun's length by 2.75 inches, according to the manufacturer's website.

"It's irrelevant," Edmund Mireles, an FBI agent who survived the Miami shootout, said of the differences in features. "They're equally dangerous."

Mark D. Jones, a senior law enforcement adviser for the University of Chicago Crime Lab, said the folding stock does not affect the firearm's lethal potential.

"Given that both firearms will accept a 30 round or larger magazine, it renders the differences between them entirely cosmetic," Jones said.

Kristen Rand, the legislative director at the Washington-based Violence Policy Center, said the Ruger Mini-14 model that would be banned under Feinstein's legislation is easier to hold while firing because it has a pistol grip, and it's easier to hide because it has a collapsible stock. That's what makes it more dangerous that the Ruger Mini-14 with the fixed stock which would be exempted under the Feinstein bill, she said.

"And that's supposed to save somebody's life?" asked Hanlon, the FBI agent shot alongside Mireles.

Hanlon considered the differences between the two models and whether the events of April 11, 1986, would have been different if the shooter used a Ruger Mini-14 with a fixed stock. "I don't think it would have changed a damn thing," he said. "I don't see what makes that gun less dangerous."

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Follow Eileen Sullivan on Twitter: http://twitter.com/esullivanap

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, is writing a memoir about her years at the social network website where she was once director of marketing, publisher HarperCollins said on Thursday.

Zuckerberg, 30, signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins that will include her memoir "Dot Complicated," and a children's picture book, scheduled to be released in the fall.

"Technology has changed virtually every part of our lives, resulting in a modern, digital society that feels a lot like the wild, wild West," Zuckerberg said in a statement.

"I am thrilled to be working with HarperCollins to share some of my own crazy experiences on the front lines of social media, and to inspire people of all ages to embrace technology, as well as the new set of social norms that come along with it."

"Dot Complicated" will cover Zuckerberg's six-year role in marketing at Facebook and her decision to leave the social media site to set up her own company, Zuckerberg Media, an entertainment production studio.

HarperCollins said the book will also be released in a digital format that will feature "innovative and engaging interactive components" that will include social media integration and a platform for crowd-sourced stories.

Zuckerberg, who left Facebook in August 2011, served as executive producer for the Bravo reality show "Start-Ups: Silicon Valley" and is the editor of the lifestyle blog "Dot Complicated."

HarperCollins Publishers is a subsidiary of News Corp.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Stacey Joyce)

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MILWAUKEE (AP) MILWAUKEE (AP) There's a 15-year-old Florida girl who didn't really know much about Charlie Sheen before this week but does now.

The actor wired $10,000 to Teagan Marti and her family on Thursday for a therapy dog to help in her rehabilitation from injuries sustained when she plummeted 100 feet from a Wisconsin amusement park ride in 2010.

"I think he's a very kind person for helping me and my family and very generous," Teagan Marti said by phone Thursday from her home in Parkland, Fla.

Teagan Marti suffered brain, spine, pelvis and internal injuries in July 2010 when nets and air bags that were supposed to catch riders on a free-fall ride were not raised. She had convinced her family to make the trip from Florida to Extreme World in Wisconsin Dells after seeing the amusement park's Terminal Velocity ride on the Travel Channel.

She was hospitalized in Wisconsin and Florida for three months. She initially had no use of her arms or legs but through physical therapy is able to walk again with a walker.

Teagan Marti's mother, Julie Marti, said they are financially in trouble from the medical bills and her recent divorce. Their house is being foreclosed upon and insurance isn't covering physical therapy anymore, she said. She had no idea how they would pay for the English Golden Retriever puppy.

"I'm in such disbelief," Julie Marti said. "I was crying. ... What a guy. What a guy."

The dog is being trained in Fond du Lac to turn on lights, pick up objects and be the teen's constant companion.

Lucia Wilgus, of Eau Claire, became friends with the Martis after hearing of the accident and has spearheaded fundraising and helped find the dog and arrange training.

She sent a letter this week to Sheen through Sheen's godfather, who is a Wilgus family friend and Benedictine brother in the Benet Lake, Wis. She estimated the training and related costs would be around $6,000.

Sheen said he decided to give more for extra costs. The request had a "personal vibe" since it came through his godfather, and "if there's a need for more I told them to call me," he said.

"I like to pay it forward," Sheen said Thursday in a phone interview from Los Angeles. "People come into your orbit for a reason. You don't always know what that is ahead of time, but if I ignore these requests then I don't have any opportunity to see where these things lead us, or lead me."

He said he doesn't like to publicize most of his donations, but wanted to talk about this one to inspire others to donate.

Teagan Marti gets the dog on her birthday in September but hasn't made up her mind on a name.

"I think they should name the dog Charlie," Sheen joked.

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Follow Carrie Antlfinger at http://twitter.com/@antltoe

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BOSTON (AP) William Watts Biggers, the co-creator of the cartoon "Underdog," the mild-mannered canine shoeshine boy who turned into a caped superhero to rescue his girlfriend, Sweet Polly Purebred, has died. He was 85.

Family friend Derek Tague says Biggers, who went by "Buck," died unexpectedly at his Plymouth, Mass., home on Sunday.

The native of Avondale Estates, Ga., worked for the New York City advertising firm DFS when he accepted an assignment from the agency's largest client, General Mills, to create television cartoons to promote its breakfast cereals. The most famous was "Underdog," which debuted on NBC in 1964.

The canine superhero, voiced by comic actor Wally Cox, also battled villains including mad scientist Simon Bar Sinister, and a gangster wolf Riff Raff.

Upon hearing the cries of Sweet Polly Purebred, Underdog would rush into a telephone booth and transform into the hero.

He spoke in simple rhymes, his most famous probably "There's no need to fear, Underdog is here."

Biggers also helped create "King Leonardo and His Short Subjects" and "Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales."

After General Mills pulled out of the animation business, Biggers became vice president of promotion and creative services at NBC.

The family said Biggers "delighted in the enduring appeal of his 'Underdog' franchise," including the balloon that appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the 2007 live-action film.

Biggers also wrote for publications including TV Guide, Family Circle and Reader's Digest, and wrote several novels, including "The Man Inside" and "Hold Back the Tide."

Biggers' wife of 39 years, Grace, died in 1989. He is survived by his daughter, Victoria Biggers, his son, W. Watts Biggers, Jr., and longtime companion Nancy Purbeck.

Funeral arrangements will be private. A memorial service is planned for a later date.

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