Negotiations haven't completely broke off, but ``we've reached a point where we've run out of ideas on some significant issues,'' North Carolina State Attorney General Mike Easley said Tuesday. ``I'd say impasse is probably a better word for it.''

Both sides met for four days last week in New York, with some progress reported by state attorneys general. Talks had been expected to resume Tuesday but were called off because ``we don't have any new information to share,'' Easley said in a conference call with reporters. No direct talks have been scheduled for next week either, he said.

Among the major hurdles to further progress is a ``renegade provision''