news: get_news degrades softly on topic miss (news-13) — any-term ranked fallback, recent+note, language hint in schema; idle-impulse default varies form

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:

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]

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]]