BERLIN (AFP) – The European Union could provide debt-ridden Greece with up to 25 billion euros (34 billion dollars) in aid, Monday's edition of the German magazine Der Spiegel says, citing suggestions from Germany's finance ministry.

The amount each country would contribute would be calculated according to its relative position in the European Central Bank, Der Spiegel explains.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said Saturday the health care meeting he's holding next week with Democratic and Republican lawmakers will test their ability to solve not just this problem, but other problems, too.

Republicans said lawmakers must scrap current proposals and start over, lest the meeting turn into a charade.

'After debating this issue exhaustively for a year, let's move forward together,' Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. 'Next week is our chance to finally reform our health insurance system so it works for families and small businesses. It's our chance to finally give Americans the peace of mind of knowing that they'll be able to have affordable coverage when they need it most.'

After an hour of deliberation Friday and four weeks of trial, a Philadelphia jury will continue its work today in a lawsuit over whether drugmaker Wyeth's hormonal drug caused an Alabama plaintiff's breast cancer.

The verdict in Singleton v. Wyeth will either continue or disrupt the run of jury verdicts in favor of plaintiffs in Philadelphia hormone-replacement therapy cases. There are 1,500 HRT mass tort cases pending in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court.

Judge Mark I. Bernstein has been presiding over the trial. Plaintiffs Audrey and Charles Singleton, of Chatom, Ala., allege that Audrey Singleton's breast cancer was caused by her use of Wyeth-made Prempro for six years before her diagnosis with breast cancer in January 2004.

Zoe Littlepage of Littlepage Booth in Houston and Samuel Abloeser of Williams Cuker Berezofsky in Philadelphia, among others, represent the Singletons. Heidi Hubbard of Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C., and David Dukes of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough of Columbia, S.C., among others, represent Wyeth, now owned by Pfizer.

NEW YORK – The dollar extended its rise Friday, a day after the Federal Reserve bumped up the rate that banks must pay for emergency loans. Analysts said the rate hike was a sign of the central bank's confidence in the financial sector.

The euro briefly slid below $1.35 for the first time in nine months before paring its losses in New York.

The euro traded as high as $1.51 in November, but worries over big deficits in Greece and other European countries has undermined the stability of the currency used by 16 countries.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Iceland's finance ministry has received a revised proposal from Britain and the Netherlands on the repayment of $5.7 billion to the two countries following the collapse of the Icesave online bank, a spokesman said Saturday.

Elias Jon Gudjonsson, a spokesman for Finance Minister Steingrimur J. Sigfusson, confirmed that the government received the new proposal but declined to comment on details. He said confidential discussions between the Icelandic, British and Dutch governments were still going on.

A source with knowledge of the talks said Friday that the main revision under discussion was a floating interest rate, replacing the 5.6 percent under the previous deal.

BERLIN – The Cockpit pilots union offered Saturday to meet with the chief of Lufthansa AG to try to head off a four-day strike beginning Monday that could cause headaches for thousands of travelers.

The union offer to meet with Lufthansa Chief Executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber came after Germany's transport minister urged the two sides to return to talks and avoid a strike that could damage the country's economy.

Lufthansa said in a statement that it is willing to talk with the pilots under certain conditions. It was not immediately clear if the meeting would take place.

Lufthansa has already canceled some 600 flights ahead of the strike and is scrambling to rebook travelers on partner airlines or trains.

White House counsel Robert Bauer made just under $1 million last year as the head of the political law group at Perkins Coie, according to a financial disclosure form he filed this month.

Bauer reported $958,788 in salary and bonuses from the firm, where he was a partner in its Washington office. That's almost 20 percent above the firm's 2009 profits per equity partner of $802,111, as reported this month by The AmLaw Daily. He also reported $14,000 in speaking honoraria and a $7,500 fee from teaching at Yale University last spring.

Senior White House officials and many other administration appointees are required to fill out the disclosure form, which, besides income, covers investment assets, certain liabilities and other financial information that could point to potential conflicts of interest. Filings a year ago from President Barack Obama's initial staff drew attention because of the prevalence of millionaires working in the White House.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – LifePoint Hospitals Inc., a rural hospital operator, said Friday its profit rose 36 percent in the fourth quarter despite the weak economy, as outpatient treatment increased.

LifePoint said it earned $38 million, or 70 cents per share. That's up from $28 million, or 53 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2008. Its revenue rose 11 percent to $746.9 million from $674.9 million.

On average, analysts were expecting net income of 60 cents per share and $746.8 million in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.

LifePoint runs 47 acute care facilities in 17 states. It is the only community hospital operator in 44 of its communities. While inpatient procedures continued to decline due to the weak economy, and patients stayed for shorter periods of time, outpatient admissions and emergency room visits both increased.

NEW YORK – Facebook users have been complaining about problems at the social media site.

Users in the U.S. and other countries reported problems beginning Saturday morning. Some could not log in, and the site was unusually slow for others. Many used Twitter to complain.

Facebook spokesman Matt Hicks said the company is working to restore access as quickly as possible. Without giving a specific number, said it was a 'small percentage of users' who had problems accessing Facebook, their friends' profiles or specific site features because of an isolated server problem.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may have opened the door to yet more legal troubles when it fired the lead plaintiff in a sexual harassment lawsuit last week, along with the woman's husband, according to their lawyer.

Cory Rosenbaum of New York's Rosenbaum Faria said on Thursday that he is preparing to file retaliation charges against the retailer over what he called a "bizarre" decision to fire his client and her husband just weeks after the sexual harassment suit was filed.

The plaintiff, Melissa Jackson, is one of several women who is suing Wal-Mart, alleging the retailer knowingly allowed an associate at a store in Monticello, N.Y., to work alongside them, despite their complaints that he had sexually harassed them.

The suit was filed Jan. 22. On Feb. 16, after working the midnight shift, Jackson and her husband were fired, according to Rosenbaum.