SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Talks on resolving Honduras' leadership crisis broke off yesterday after the interim government rejected a proposed compromise, saying a provision calling for ousted President Manuel Zelaya to serve out his term was "unacceptable."

The two sides remained deadlocked on the issue of Zelaya's return after a fourth day of negotiations, but the mediator, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, promised renewed efforts to seek a solution and avoid bloodshed in the Central American country.

Arias had proposed a plan that included terms such as letting Zelaya serve out the final months of his term, moving up elections by one month to late October and granting a general amnesty.

OPERATOR PROBED IN LIGHT-RAIL TRAIN CRASH

SAN FRANCISCO — The operator of a light-rail train that crashed and injured 48 passengers in San Francisco came under scrutiny yesterday as federal investigators tried to figure out why he inexplicably turned off the automatic controls moments before the collision.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Ted Turpin did not know why the operator switched the controls from automatic to manual in a tunnel near the West Portal Station. With the autopilot on, the train would have slowed down before arriving at the station and likely not careened into a parked train, Turpin said. He added that the operator never engaged the emergency brake.

FUGITIVE BACK IN U.S., ISRAEL SAYS

JERUSALEM — An Israeli immigration official says an American fugitive has left Israel and returned to the United States.

It is believed that white supremacist Micky Louis Mayon of Steelton, Pa., was deported, but the official would only confirm that he left Israel.

Earlier this month, Israeli authorities said they found Mayon hiding in Tel Aviv after a tip-off from Interpol. They said he is wanted for a series of violent crimes in the U.S. and intended to deport him.

A Web site of the U.S. TV program "America's Most Wanted" identifies a fugitive of that name as being a white supremacist from Steelton. The site says he fled to Israel in 2007.

2ND MAJOR CRASH REPORTED AT NATO BASE

KABUL — A NATO official said a fighter jet crashed today at NATO's largest base in southern Afghanistan, the second major crash at the base in two days.

A spokesman for the NATO-led force said a fighter jet crashed inside the Kandahar airfield during takeoff this morning. The two-man crew ejected from the jet and is being treated at the base hospital.

The spokesman said there is no indication insurgent activity caused the crash, but that officials don't yet know why it went down. The jet caught fire and emergency personnel responded.

A Russian-owned civilian helicopter also crashed at the Kandahar airfield yesterday, killing 16 people on board.

CALIFORNIA FAILS TO REACH BUDGET DEAL

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lawmakers' optimism about finally reaching a deal to close the state's $26.3 billion budget deficit yesterday turned out to be wishful thinking as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger abruptly postponed talks.

Legislative leaders said they had been on the verge of bridging pitfalls that include how much money to borrow from local governments and whether to guarantee that schools will be repaid money they lose during poor economic times.

Instead, they spent yesterday blaming each other for a scheduling meltdown that pushed the state's massive budget problems off for at least another day.

PUMP REPAIR SHUTS SPACE STATION TOILET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The bathroom lines at the already crowded space shuttle and space station complex got a lot longer yesterday because of a flooded toilet.

One of two commodes aboard the international space station broke down, right in the middle of complicated robotic work being conducted by the two crews. The pump separator apparently flooded.

Mission Control advised the astronauts to hang an "out of service" sign on the toilet until it could be fixed. In the meantime, the six space station residents had to get in line to use their one good toilet. Endeavour's seven astronauts were restricted to the shuttle bathroom.

There have never been so many people — 13 — together in space.