diff --git a/fjerkroa_bot/news.py b/fjerkroa_bot/news.py
index 1849080..87e9453 100644
--- a/fjerkroa_bot/news.py
+++ b/fjerkroa_bot/news.py
@@ -198,7 +198,12 @@ GET_NEWS_TOOL = {
     "parameters": {
         "type": "object",
         "properties": {
-            "topic": {"type": "string", "description": "Optional keywords to filter by, e.g. 'Nordland', 'football', 'weather'."},
+            "topic": {
+                "type": "string",
+                "description": "Optional filter: one or two keywords, in the language the feeds are written in "
+                "(e.g. Norwegian for Norwegian news: 'Nordland', 'fotball', 'trafikkulykke'). If nothing matches "
+                "exactly, related or recent items come back with a `note` saying so.",
+            },
             "source": {"type": "string", "description": "Optional source label, e.g. 'NRK', 'Aftenposten', 'Verden', 'Sport'."},
             "limit": {"type": "integer", "description": "How many items to return (default 10, max 30)."},
         },
@@ -220,8 +225,15 @@ def query_news(
     limit = max(1, min(int(limit or 10), 30))
     src = (str(source).strip() or None) if source else None
     terms = _news_terms(topic)
+    note = None
     try:
         rows = store.search_news(terms, limit, src) if terms else store.recent_news(limit, src)
+        if terms and not rows:  # NEWS-13: soft degradation, never empty-handed
+            rows = store.search_news(terms, limit, src, match_any=True)
+            note = "no item matches all keywords; showing items matching some of them"
+        if terms and not rows:
+            rows = store.recent_news(limit, src)
+            note = "nothing matches the topic; showing the newest stored items instead"
     except Exception as err:
         logging.warning(f"news: query failed: {err!r}")
         return {"error": "news lookup failed"}
@@ -234,7 +246,10 @@ def query_news(
         }
         for row in rows
     ]
-    return {"topic": topic or "", "source": src or "", "results": results}
+    payload = {"topic": topic or "", "source": src or "", "results": results}
+    if note:
+        payload["note"] = note
+    return payload
 
 
 def _open_store(config: Dict[str, Any]) -> Any:
diff --git a/fjerkroa_bot/persistence.py b/fjerkroa_bot/persistence.py
index 4780402..2d11aaf 100644
--- a/fjerkroa_bot/persistence.py
+++ b/fjerkroa_bot/persistence.py
@@ -152,20 +152,33 @@ class PersistentStore:
             rows = conn.execute(sql, params).fetchall()
         return [{"source": r[0], "title": r[1], "link": r[2], "summary": r[3]} for r in rows]
 
-    def search_news(self, terms: List[str], limit: int = 20, source: Optional[str] = None) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
-        """Rows where every term appears in title or summary; optional source filter (NEWS-11)."""
+    def search_news(self, terms: List[str], limit: int = 20, source: Optional[str] = None, match_any: bool = False) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
+        """Rows where every term appears in title/summary/source; match_any ranks by how many terms hit (NEWS-11/13)."""
         params: List[Any] = []
         clauses = []
         for term in terms:
             clauses.append("(title LIKE ? OR summary LIKE ? OR source LIKE ?)")
             like = f"%{term}%"
             params += [like, like, like]
-        where = " AND ".join(clauses) if clauses else "1=1"
-        if source:
-            where = f"({where}) AND source = ?"
-            params.append(source)
-        params.append(int(limit))
-        sql = f"SELECT source, title, link, summary FROM news WHERE {where} ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT ?"  # nosec B608 - fixed templates; values parameterised
+        if match_any and clauses:
+            hits = " + ".join(clauses)
+            where = "hits > 0"
+            if source:
+                where += " AND source = ?"
+                params.append(source)
+            params.append(int(limit))
+            sql = (
+                f"SELECT source, title, link, summary FROM "  # nosec B608 - fixed templates; values parameterised
+                f"(SELECT id, source, title, link, summary, {hits} AS hits FROM news) "
+                f"WHERE {where} ORDER BY hits DESC, id DESC LIMIT ?"
+            )
+        else:
+            where = " AND ".join(clauses) if clauses else "1=1"
+            if source:
+                where = f"({where}) AND source = ?"
+                params.append(source)
+            params.append(int(limit))
+            sql = f"SELECT source, title, link, summary FROM news WHERE {where} ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT ?"  # nosec B608 - fixed templates; values parameterised
         with closing(self._connect()) as conn:
             rows = conn.execute(sql, params).fetchall()
         return [{"source": r[0], "title": r[1], "link": r[2], "summary": r[3]} for r in rows]
diff --git a/fjerkroa_bot/tasks.py b/fjerkroa_bot/tasks.py
index 6eb07da..c8ecb7c 100644
--- a/fjerkroa_bot/tasks.py
+++ b/fjerkroa_bot/tasks.py
@@ -20,7 +20,9 @@ DEFAULT_TASKGEN_INTERVAL_HOURS = 6.0
 DEFAULT_BORENESS_PROMPT = (
     "A thought just occurred to you. Anchor it to something real you know — recent news (use get_news), a game "
     "releasing soon, the weather, or a regular you remember — not a generic musing. Share it briefly, in your own "
-    "voice, as an observation, a gentle question, or a joke; never an advertisement. Read the room and stay in character."
+    "voice, as an observation, a gentle question, or a joke; never an advertisement. Read the room and stay in character. "
+    "Check your own recent posts in the history first: pick a subject you have not touched lately and a different form "
+    "than last time, and never open with a fixed label or heading — just start mid-thought."
 )
 
 ExecuteCallback = Callable[[str, str], Awaitable[None]]
diff --git a/specs/SPEC-013-news.md b/specs/SPEC-013-news.md
index 5c60cc7..b604281 100644
--- a/specs/SPEC-013-news.md
+++ b/specs/SPEC-013-news.md
@@ -98,3 +98,14 @@ Each `get_news` call increments a per-user daily counter; over
 `news-daily-per-user` (default 30) the tool refuses with an error
 result without touching the store. The budget gate (SAF-04) still
 applies to the surrounding model calls.
+
+### NEWS-13 — Topic misses degrade softly, never empty-handed (coverage: test)
+
+A `topic` whose AND-match (NEWS-11) finds nothing falls back to an
+any-term match, ranked by how many keywords hit (ties: newest first);
+if that too is empty, the newest stored items are returned instead.
+Both fallbacks set a `note` field naming the degradation so the model
+can answer honestly ("nothing on that exactly, but…"). A model
+passing a multi-word or wrong-language topic (the live
+`"Nordland road accident"` → `[]` case) thus still gets usable
+context. Exact matches return no `note`.
diff --git a/tests/test_spec_news.py b/tests/test_spec_news.py
index d472bf1..a31a28d 100644
--- a/tests/test_spec_news.py
+++ b/tests/test_spec_news.py
@@ -303,6 +303,26 @@ class TestQueryNews(NewsStoreBase):
         self.assertGreaterEqual(len(query_news(self.store, limit=0)["results"]), 1)
         self.assertIn("error", query_news(None))
 
+    def test_exact_match_has_no_note(self):
+        """NEWS-13: a direct AND-match returns without a note field."""
+        self.seed()
+        self.assertNotIn("note", query_news(self.store, topic="storm"))
+
+    def test_partial_match_falls_back_ranked(self):
+        """NEWS-13: AND-miss -> any-term match, most keyword hits first, with a note."""
+        self.seed()
+        res = query_news(self.store, topic="Nordland road accident")
+        self.assertEqual(res["results"][0]["title"], "Nordland storm")
+        self.assertIn("note", res)
+
+    def test_no_match_falls_back_to_recent(self):
+        """NEWS-13: nothing matches any term -> newest items + note, never empty-handed."""
+        self.seed()
+        res = query_news(self.store, topic="quantum blockchain")
+        self.assertTrue(res["results"])
+        self.assertEqual(res["results"][0]["title"], "Sport result")  # newest first
+        self.assertIn("note", res)
+
 
 class TestNewsTool(unittest.IsolatedAsyncioTestCase):
     def setUp(self):