diff --git a/docs/news.md b/docs/news.md
index 75afc25..93084d0 100644
--- a/docs/news.md
+++ b/docs/news.md
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
-# News pipeline — scraper + summarizer
+# News pipeline — scraper + Nous Portal summarizer
 
 The OSINT dashboard ingests ~257 global news RSS sources hourly and produces
-LLM master summaries. Both services were vendored from the upstream
-`~/Projects/newsPipeline` project and re-integrated here to replace the old
-k8s CronJob choreography with in-compose scheduling against the EXISTING
-osint-db — **no second Postgres**.
+an English LLM brief plus flagged ticker/map rows. Both services were vendored
+from the upstream `~/Projects/newsPipeline` project and re-integrated here to
+replace the old k8s CronJob choreography with in-compose scheduling against
+the EXISTING osint-db — **no second Postgres**. The LLM is **Nous Portal**
+(`inference-api.nousresearch.com`) — not Gemini.
 
 ## Architecture
 
@@ -15,10 +16,11 @@ osint-db — **no second Postgres**.
 news-scraper   (Scrapy, hourly :00) ──► articles table (osint-db)
         │                                      │
         │                                      ▼
-news-summarizer (Gemini map-reduce, hourly :05) ──► article_summaries table
+news-summarizer (Nous Portal map-reduce, :05) ──► article_summaries + news_items
                                                       │
                                                       ▼
-                              GET /api/news  ·  GET /api/news/summaries
+     GET /api/news · /api/news/summaries · /api/news/ticker · /api/news/map
+     GET /api/news/models · GET/PUT /api/settings
 ```
 
 | Component | Image | Container | Scheduling |
@@ -29,6 +31,11 @@ news-summarizer (Gemini map-reduce, hourly :05) ──► article_summaries tabl
 Both services live under the `ingest` compose profile (same as the ingester
 and camera-scraper): `docker compose --profile ingest up -d`.
 
+The summarizer is a batch sidecar, **not** a live overlay. Do **not** reuse
+`GET /api/alerts` (dashboard entity/keyword alerts). Do **not** stuff news
+into `overlay_catalog()` — `/api/map/layers` `overlays` stays live upstream
+feeds (`GET /api/news` exact key set is unchanged on purpose).
+
 ## Data flow
 
 1. **Scraper** — `news/scraper/run_news_scraper.py` runs
@@ -39,29 +46,52 @@ and camera-scraper): `docker compose --profile ingest up -d`.
    (`ON CONFLICT (url) DO NOTHING`).
 2. **Summarizer** — `news/summerizer/run_news_summarizer.py` runs
    `summarizer.py` at :05 past each hour. It reads articles from the last
-   `SUMMARY_WINDOW_HOURS`, map-reduces them through Gemini
-   (`SUMMARY_MODEL`, default `gemini-2.0-flash`), and inserts one master
-   summary into `article_summaries`.
+   `SUMMARY_WINDOW_HOURS`, map-reduces them through Nous Portal
+   (`SUMMARY_MODEL` / Settings, default `Hermes-4.3-36B`), writes the English
+   brief to `article_summaries` (column `model` is the LLM id), and flagged
+   ticker/map rows to `news_items`.
 
 Scheduling is done with small in-compose wall-clock loops (not host cron): each
 loop runs once on boot (`*_RUN_ON_START=1`, seeds data fast) then sleeps until
 the next scheduled minute. The loop is serial, so a run that overruns its slot
 simply shifts to the next boundary — two crawls/summaries never overlap.
 
+Hour-truncation idempotency: if `article_summaries` already has a row for the
+current UTC hour, the summarizer **skips** (prevents double-pins on
+`RUN_ON_START` recreate). Set `NEWS_SUMMARIZE_FORCE=1` to ignore that skip.
+
 The `articles` and `article_summaries` tables are created by the idempotent
 alembic migration `003_news` (also created by the scraper's own
-`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS`, so container startup order doesn't matter).
+`CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS`). `news_items` is alembic `005_news_items`.
+Container startup order doesn't matter.
+
+## Keys and Settings
+
+- **`NOUS_API_KEY`** — paste in the dashboard **Keys** UI (`api_keys` /
+  `keystore.KEY_REGISTRY`). Env / `.env` is an **override** (env wins, same
+  as FIRMS). Never returned by any API; never emitted into `index.html`;
+  never proxied from the browser.
+- **Idle without a key** — if env is unset **and** the keystore row is empty,
+  the summarizer logs and idles (never crashes). News intel APIs return `[]`.
+- **Model** — non-secret. Settings UI model selector `PUT /api/settings`
+  `{ "summary_model": "…" }` stores `SUMMARY_MODEL` in `app_settings` (1–128
+  chars). `GET /api/settings` echoes `{summary_model, nous_base_url}`.
+  `nous_base_url` is read-only. Default `Hermes-4.3-36B`. Live catalog is
+  best-effort `GET /api/news/models`.
 
 ## Endpoints
 
 ### GET /api/news — recent articles
 
+Key set **unchanged** (no `lat`/`lon` on articles; geo lives on `/api/news/map`).
+
 | Query param | Meaning | Default |
 |---|---|---|
 | `domain` | filter by source domain (e.g. `www.reuters.com`) | none |
 | `since` | only articles captured at/after this UTC instant (ISO-8601) | none |
 | `limit` | max rows | `50` (max `500`) |
 | `offset` | pagination offset | `0` |
+| `include_content` | include full article body | `false` |
 
 ```json
 [
@@ -69,14 +99,14 @@ alembic migration `003_news` (also created by the scraper's own
     "id": 1,
     "title": "…",
     "url": "https://…",
-    "content": "full extracted article text…",
+    "content": null,
     "domain": "www.reuters.com",
     "timestamp": "2026-08-24T18:10:00Z"
   }
 ]
 ```
 
-### GET /api/news/summaries — master LLM summaries
+### GET /api/news/summaries — master LLM briefs
 
 | Query param | Meaning | Default |
 |---|---|---|
@@ -88,52 +118,178 @@ alembic migration `003_news` (also created by the scraper's own
 [
   {
     "id": 1,
-    "summary_text": "master LLM summary (markdown)…",
-    "batch_timestamp": "2026-08-24T18:10:00Z"
+    "summary_text": "English markdown brief…",
+    "batch_timestamp": "2026-08-24T18:10:00Z",
+    "model": "Hermes-4.3-36B"
   }
 ]
 ```
 
+`model` is additive. Empty DB → `[]` (no crash).
+
+### GET /api/news/ticker — flagged HUD headlines
+
+Critical/high `news_items` with `kind=ticker` only. Do **not** reuse
+`GET /api/alerts`. Bottom HUD `#nt-track` scrolls these rows, not a dump of
+the whole brief.
+
+| Query param | Meaning | Default |
+|---|---|---|
+| `since` | only items created at/after this UTC instant | none |
+| `limit` | max rows | `20` (max `50`) |
+
+```json
+[
+  {
+    "id": 1,
+    "headline": "…",
+    "importance": "critical",
+    "location_name": "Kyiv",
+    "url": "https://…",
+    "created_at": "2026-08-24T18:10:00Z"
+  }
+]
+```
+
+### GET /api/news/map — geolocated critical/high pins
+
+Only rows with valid `lat`/`lon`. Optional bbox. **No zoom skip** — world
+view is the point. Layer-panel toggle uses this dedicated path (same as
+event blips), not `overlay_catalog`.
+
+| Query param | Meaning | Default |
+|---|---|---|
+| `bbox` | `minlon,minlat,maxlon,maxlat` | all flagged pins |
+| `since` | only items created at/after this UTC instant | last 24 hours |
+| `limit` | max rows | `200` (max `500`) |
+
+Malformed bbox → `422`.
+
+```json
+[
+  {
+    "id": 1,
+    "headline": "…",
+    "importance": "high",
+    "location_name": "Kyiv",
+    "lat": 50.45,
+    "lon": 30.52,
+    "location_confidence": "city",
+    "category": "military/conflict",
+    "url": "https://…",
+    "created_at": "2026-08-24T18:10:00Z"
+  }
+]
+```
+
+Pins are LLM-estimated and clamped (`lat∈[-90,90]`, `lon∈[-180,180]`). No
+Nominatim. No writes into `events`.
+
+### GET /api/news/models — Settings dropdown catalog
+
+Never 502s. `{ "source": "live"|"fallback", "models": [{"id": "…"}] }`.
+
+### GET /api/settings · PUT /api/settings
+
+```json
+{ "summary_model": "Hermes-4.3-36B", "nous_base_url": "https://inference-api.nousresearch.com/v1" }
+```
+
+PUT body is `{ "summary_model": "<1–128 char id>" }`. `nous_base_url` is
+ignored even if sent.
+
+## Reduce JSON contract
+
+Reduce phase (`response_format: json_object`, English only) must be a single
+object. Parser (`intel.parse_reduce_json`) strips `<think>…</think>` and
+markdown json fences, then brace-slices:
+
+```json
+{
+  "summary_en": "English markdown brief or the no-qualifying-events sentence",
+  "ticker": [
+    {"headline": "", "importance": "critical", "url": "", "location_name": ""}
+  ],
+  "map_items": [
+    {
+      "headline": "",
+      "importance": "critical",
+      "location_name": "",
+      "lat": 0,
+      "lon": 0,
+      "location_confidence": "city",
+      "category": "military/conflict",
+      "url": ""
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+Persist ticker/map only for `importance` in `critical`/`high`. Map rows also
+need valid coords; Unknown / invented places are dropped. Caps: 12 ticker
+(≤140 chars, no markdown), 20 map. Empty ticker is allowed. `summary_en`
+lands in `article_summaries.summary_text`.
+
 ## Configuration (all via env / `.env`)
 
 | Var | Default | Notes |
 |---|---|---|
-| `GEMINI_API_KEY` | *(blank)* | **Required for summaries.** Unset = summarizer logs and idles (never crashes). |
-| `SUMMARY_MODEL` | `gemini-2.0-flash` | Gemini model id. |
-| `NEWS_BATCH_SIZE` | `50` | Articles per map-phase batch. |
+| `NOUS_API_KEY` | *(blank)* | **Required for summaries.** Prefer Keys UI; env overrides. Unset in **both** env and `api_keys` = summarizer logs and idles (never crashes); APIs return `[]`. |
+| `NOUS_BASE_URL` | `https://inference-api.nousresearch.com/v1` | Read-only in Settings. |
+| `SUMMARY_MODEL` | `Hermes-4.3-36B` | Compose default. Operator-facing choice is Settings → `app_settings.SUMMARY_MODEL`. |
+| `NEWS_BATCH_SIZE` | `50` | Articles per map-phase batch (compose maps to container `BATCH_SIZE`). |
 | `SUMMARY_WINDOW_HOURS` | `1` | How far back the summarizer looks for new articles. |
 | `INCLUDE_FUTURES` | `0` | Legacy futures-prices coupling (upstream pipeline). OFF for OSINT; set `1` + install `yfinance` to enable. |
 | `NEWS_SCRAPE_MINUTE` | `0` | Wall-clock minute the scraper fires. |
 | `NEWS_SUMMARIZE_MINUTE` | `5` | Wall-clock minute the summarizer fires. |
 | `NEWS_SCRAPE_RUN_ON_START` | `1` | Run one scrape immediately on container start. |
 | `NEWS_SUMMARIZE_RUN_ON_START` | `1` | Run one summarize immediately on container start. |
+| `NEWS_SUMMARIZE_FORCE` | `0` | `1` ignores the current-UTC-hour idempotency skip (double-pins on recreate). |
 | `NEWS_LOG_LEVEL` | `INFO` | Scrapy log level. |
+| `OSINT_USER_AGENT` | `osint-dashboard-news-summarizer` | Sent on every outbound Nous call. |
 | `TELEGRAM_TOKEN` / `TELEGRAM_CHAT_ID` | *(blank)* | Reserved for the (out-of-scope) Telegram delivery bot. |
 
 DB_* for both services is mapped to the shared osint-db credentials
 (`DB_HOST=db`, same `DB_USER/DB_PASSWORD/DB_NAME` as the rest of the stack).
 
+Nous chat: `POST {NOUS_BASE_URL}/chat/completions` via `news/summerizer/nous_client.py`
+(`httpx`, no `openai` SDK). Auth is a Bearer token from `NOUS_API_KEY`.
+No Hermes-4 reasoning system prompt. Reduce uses `json_mode=True`.
+
 ## Prompts
 
 Both prompts are env-overridable — the default `MAP_PROMPT` is OSINT-neutral
-(facts, locations, entities, category, OSINT signal per article) and the default
-`SUMMARY_PROMPT` produces a concise executive summary of the most impactful
-items (with a "no qualifying events" escape hatch). Upstream's futures/markets
-prompt language is gated behind `INCLUDE_FUTURES=1`.
+(facts, locations, entities, category, OSINT signal per article; English) and
+the default `SUMMARY_PROMPT` demands the reduce JSON above (with a
+"no qualifying events" escape hatch). Upstream's futures/markets prompt
+language is gated behind `INCLUDE_FUTURES=1`.
 
 ## Tests
 
-`tests/test_api_news.py` — DB-backed API contract tests (auto-skip without a
-reachable test database, same as the FIRMS tests):
-
 ```bash
-DB_HOST=... DB_PORT=... DB_USER=osint DB_PASSWORD=... DB_NAME=osint_data \
-  pytest tests/test_api_news.py -v
+PYTHONPATH=news/summerizer pytest news/summerizer/tests -v
+# intel + nous_client tests PASS (no network)
+
+PYTHONPATH=app pytest tests/test_api_news.py tests/test_api_news_intel.py \
+  tests/test_api_settings.py tests/test_api_live_layers.py -v
+# DB-marked tests skip without Postgres; live_layers must still PASS
+# /api/map/layers overlays key set UNCHANGED
 ```
 
 ## Live verification
 
-End-to-end (real crawl → DB → API) is verified after deploy on the Pi: check
-`docker compose --profile ingest logs -f news-scraper news-summarizer`, then
-`curl -s localhost:8000/api/news | head`. Summaries additionally require
-`GEMINI_API_KEY` to be set in `.env` on the Pi.
+After deploy / compose rebuild of `news-summarizer` on the Pi:
+
+1. Keys UI: save `NOUS_API_KEY` → status `****last4`.
+2. Settings: pick a model → Save → `GET /api/settings` echoes it.
+3. `docker compose --profile ingest logs -f news-summarizer` — next run (or
+   `NEWS_SUMMARIZE_RUN_ON_START=1` recreate) logs `Processing N articles with <model>`.
+4. `curl -s localhost:8000/api/news/summaries?limit=1` — English `summary_text`, `model` set.
+5. `curl -s localhost:8000/api/news/ticker` — flagged headlines only.
+6. `curl -s localhost:8000/api/news/map` — only rows with lat/lon.
+7. HUD: NEWS ticker scrolls flagged items; map overlay pins popup with location.
+8. Unset key + empty keystore → summarizer logs idle, APIs return `[]`, no crash.
+
+**Operator action after merge:** paste a Nous Portal API key in API Keys; pick
+a model in Settings if the default `Hermes-4.3-36B` is not wanted; rebuild
+`osint-news-summarizer` on the Pi (`pi-app-deploy` / compose).