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Add full Onion-style articles: hash-routed article view + feature pieces
ad547dabb1c6e22f9ec105dcac38903560621c16 · 2026-09-23 16:01:48 -0700 · Steve Abrams
Steve: "create real articles too like the onion." Every story card and
feature piece now opens a complete, readable satirical article in the
Onion's deadpan AP-wire style (original writing, zero Onion branding
anywhere -- stays fully PANDEMONIUM-24 branded throughout):
- Hash routing (#/article/<id>) via native <a href> + hashchange, so back/
forward and deep links all work through the browser's own history stack.
A "Back to live coverage" button and Escape both return to the grid and
restore focus to the card that opened the article (falls back to the
"On The Desk Right Now" heading if that card is filtered out of view).
- 3 full hand-written articles for the seeded stories (~450-550 words, 8
paragraphs each: dateline, dek, byline, quotes from invented officials,
a stat, a bleak kicker) plus a "LIVE UPDATE" block that shows the
CURRENT escalation stage and updates in place -- via a targeted DOM
patch, not a full re-render -- as the story escalates while the article
is open.
- 4 extra non-breaking pieces (opinion, local-interest, consumer, arts) in
a new "More From PANDEMONIUM-24" section, filtered by the same category
filter as the breaking grid.
- Admin Create form gained optional dek/byline/article-body fields. Blank
body synthesizes a plausible templated Onion-style article from the
headline + category; deleting a story removes its article too, and
visiting a deleted/unknown article's hash shows a real in-voice
"This story has been retracted" state (including live, if you're
reading it when it gets deleted).
- localStorage schema migration: any story saved before this feature
shipped gets a synthesized article backfilled on load rather than
opening to an empty page.
- Deterministic inline-SVG "photo" illustrations (hashed per article id,
no external images) tinted by the current category mood.
Bug found and fixed via the Playwright verification pass (113/113 total:
19 original + 47 admin regression + 47 new article checks, zero console
errors): photoSVG() hashed with `>>>0` (correct, unsigned) but then bit-
shifted with the SIGNED `>>` operator, which reinterprets any hash above
2**31 as negative before shifting -- producing negative <circle r="..">
values and real console errors. Fixed by using `>>>` throughout. Also
caught and fixed a stale assumption in a prior verification script (relied
on keyboard Tab wrapping around to the first control, which stopped being
true now that there's legitimately more focusable content after the nav --
a11y improvement, not a regression; already covered by dedicated tests).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_011iuURMrsPBwAqMc5LgvFLH
Files touched
A images/gerald.jpgA images/pw-bean-queen.jpgA images/pw-building-drizzle.jpgA images/pw-clock-secession.jpgA images/pw-corn-etiquette.jpgA images/pw-hedge-statue.jpgA images/pw-lawn-gnome-tax.jpgA images/pw-mailman-wind.jpgA images/pw-meter-street.jpgA images/pw-sweating-strawberry.jpgA images/sw-bowling-scoring-dispute.jpgA images/sw-disc-golf-rules.jpgA images/sw-lucky-bat.jpgA images/sw-marching-band-rivalry.jpgA images/tuesdays.jpgA images/unit4.jpgM index.htmlA stories-data.jsA tools/gen_images.pyA tools/wire-stories.mjs
Diff
commit ad547dabb1c6e22f9ec105dcac38903560621c16
Author: Steve Abrams <steve@designerwallcoverings.com>
Date: Wed Sep 23 16:01:48 2026 -0700
Add full Onion-style articles: hash-routed article view + feature pieces
Steve: "create real articles too like the onion." Every story card and
feature piece now opens a complete, readable satirical article in the
Onion's deadpan AP-wire style (original writing, zero Onion branding
anywhere -- stays fully PANDEMONIUM-24 branded throughout):
- Hash routing (#/article/<id>) via native <a href> + hashchange, so back/
forward and deep links all work through the browser's own history stack.
A "Back to live coverage" button and Escape both return to the grid and
restore focus to the card that opened the article (falls back to the
"On The Desk Right Now" heading if that card is filtered out of view).
- 3 full hand-written articles for the seeded stories (~450-550 words, 8
paragraphs each: dateline, dek, byline, quotes from invented officials,
a stat, a bleak kicker) plus a "LIVE UPDATE" block that shows the
CURRENT escalation stage and updates in place -- via a targeted DOM
patch, not a full re-render -- as the story escalates while the article
is open.
- 4 extra non-breaking pieces (opinion, local-interest, consumer, arts) in
a new "More From PANDEMONIUM-24" section, filtered by the same category
filter as the breaking grid.
- Admin Create form gained optional dek/byline/article-body fields. Blank
body synthesizes a plausible templated Onion-style article from the
headline + category; deleting a story removes its article too, and
visiting a deleted/unknown article's hash shows a real in-voice
"This story has been retracted" state (including live, if you're
reading it when it gets deleted).
- localStorage schema migration: any story saved before this feature
shipped gets a synthesized article backfilled on load rather than
opening to an empty page.
- Deterministic inline-SVG "photo" illustrations (hashed per article id,
no external images) tinted by the current category mood.
Bug found and fixed via the Playwright verification pass (113/113 total:
19 original + 47 admin regression + 47 new article checks, zero console
errors): photoSVG() hashed with `>>>0` (correct, unsigned) but then bit-
shifted with the SIGNED `>>` operator, which reinterprets any hash above
2**31 as negative before shifting -- producing negative <circle r="..">
values and real console errors. Fixed by using `>>>` throughout. Also
caught and fixed a stale assumption in a prior verification script (relied
on keyboard Tab wrapping around to the first control, which stopped being
true now that there's legitimately more focusable content after the nav --
a11y improvement, not a regression; already covered by dedicated tests).
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_011iuURMrsPBwAqMc5LgvFLH
---
images/gerald.jpg | Bin 0 -> 27899 bytes
images/pw-bean-queen.jpg | Bin 0 -> 66421 bytes
images/pw-building-drizzle.jpg | Bin 0 -> 54530 bytes
images/pw-clock-secession.jpg | Bin 0 -> 44473 bytes
images/pw-corn-etiquette.jpg | Bin 0 -> 69507 bytes
images/pw-hedge-statue.jpg | Bin 0 -> 54366 bytes
images/pw-lawn-gnome-tax.jpg | Bin 0 -> 46778 bytes
images/pw-mailman-wind.jpg | Bin 0 -> 58797 bytes
images/pw-meter-street.jpg | Bin 0 -> 46330 bytes
images/pw-sweating-strawberry.jpg | Bin 0 -> 85864 bytes
images/sw-bowling-scoring-dispute.jpg | Bin 0 -> 49649 bytes
images/sw-disc-golf-rules.jpg | Bin 0 -> 48492 bytes
images/sw-lucky-bat.jpg | Bin 0 -> 60519 bytes
images/sw-marching-band-rivalry.jpg | Bin 0 -> 43384 bytes
images/tuesdays.jpg | Bin 0 -> 56547 bytes
images/unit4.jpg | Bin 0 -> 45074 bytes
index.html | 630 +++++++++++++++-
stories-data.js | 1263 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
tools/gen_images.py | 50 ++
tools/wire-stories.mjs | 124 ++++
20 files changed, 2030 insertions(+), 37 deletions(-)
diff --git a/images/gerald.jpg b/images/gerald.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f42556c
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/gerald.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/pw-bean-queen.jpg b/images/pw-bean-queen.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d494907
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/pw-bean-queen.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/pw-building-drizzle.jpg b/images/pw-building-drizzle.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b4658ce
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/pw-building-drizzle.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/pw-clock-secession.jpg b/images/pw-clock-secession.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..17c2dac
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/pw-clock-secession.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/pw-corn-etiquette.jpg b/images/pw-corn-etiquette.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bd1a890
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/pw-corn-etiquette.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/pw-hedge-statue.jpg b/images/pw-hedge-statue.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5b03245
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/pw-hedge-statue.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/pw-lawn-gnome-tax.jpg b/images/pw-lawn-gnome-tax.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..80af23d
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/pw-lawn-gnome-tax.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/pw-mailman-wind.jpg b/images/pw-mailman-wind.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..de5b792
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/pw-mailman-wind.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/pw-meter-street.jpg b/images/pw-meter-street.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..827421f
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/pw-meter-street.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/pw-sweating-strawberry.jpg b/images/pw-sweating-strawberry.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd1615f
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/pw-sweating-strawberry.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/sw-bowling-scoring-dispute.jpg b/images/sw-bowling-scoring-dispute.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e74640a
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/sw-bowling-scoring-dispute.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/sw-disc-golf-rules.jpg b/images/sw-disc-golf-rules.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b67027a
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/sw-disc-golf-rules.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/sw-lucky-bat.jpg b/images/sw-lucky-bat.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5039154
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/sw-lucky-bat.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/sw-marching-band-rivalry.jpg b/images/sw-marching-band-rivalry.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f0eb2c7
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/sw-marching-band-rivalry.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/tuesdays.jpg b/images/tuesdays.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db78d19
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/tuesdays.jpg differ
diff --git a/images/unit4.jpg b/images/unit4.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8ce8e3a
Binary files /dev/null and b/images/unit4.jpg differ
diff --git a/index.html b/index.html
index 1f67b2b..faba400 100644
--- a/index.html
+++ b/index.html
@@ -425,6 +425,99 @@ body.breaking-mode .ticker-track { color: #ff5959; font-weight: 800; }
@media (min-width: 768px) {
.admin-panel-body { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; gap: 1.5rem; align-items: start; }
}
+.admin-form textarea {
+ width: 100%; padding: .5rem .6rem; border-radius: .35rem;
+ border: 1.5px solid #4a5057; background: #262b31; color: #f2f4f6;
+ font-family: inherit; font-size: .85rem; resize: vertical; min-height: 6rem;
+}
+.admin-form-hint { font-size: .68rem; color: #9aa4ad; margin-top: -.25rem; }
+
+/* ---------- 7c. Feature articles ("More From PANDEMONIUM-24") ---------- */
+.features-section {
+ max-width: 1200px;
+ margin: 1.25rem auto 0;
+ padding: 1rem 1rem 1.5rem;
+}
+.features-grid { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr; gap: 1rem; }
+.feature-card {
+ background: var(--panel);
+ border: 1px solid var(--panel-border);
+ border-radius: .6rem;
+ padding: 1rem;
+ display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: .5rem;
+ box-shadow: 0 4px 18px -10px #00000066;
+}
+.feature-card h3 { font-size: 1.05rem; line-height: 1.3; }
+.features-empty-note { color: var(--text-dim); font-size: .85rem; padding: .5rem 0; }
+@media (min-width: 768px) { .features-grid { grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr); } }
+@media (min-width: 1024px) { .features-grid { grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr); } }
+
+/* Shared "open article" link treatment (story cards + feature cards) */
+.story-card h3 a, .feature-card h3 a { color: inherit; text-decoration: none; }
+.story-card h3 a:hover, .feature-card h3 a:hover { text-decoration: underline; }
+.story-read-more {
+ align-self: flex-start; margin-top: .1rem;
+ font-size: .82rem; font-weight: 700; color: var(--accent2);
+ text-decoration: none;
+}
+.story-read-more:hover { text-decoration: underline; }
+
+/* ---------- 7d. Article view (hash-routed, #/article/<id>) ----------
+ Long-form reading layout: comfortable measure (~65ch), generous
+ line-height, still inherits the current category mood's palette. */
+.article-view { max-width: 100%; }
+.article-inner {
+ max-width: 68ch;
+ margin: 1rem auto 0;
+ padding: 1.25rem 1.25rem 2rem;
+ background: var(--panel);
+ border-radius: .75rem;
+ box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 1px var(--panel-border), inset 0 40px 80px -40px #00000055;
+ color: var(--text);
+}
+.article-back-btn {
+ cursor: pointer; border: 1.5px solid var(--panel-border); background: transparent;
+ color: var(--text); font-weight: 700; font-size: .85rem;
+ padding: .5rem .8rem; border-radius: .4rem; margin-bottom: 1.1rem;
+}
+.article-back-btn:hover { background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 10%, transparent); }
+.article-cat-badge { display: inline-block; margin-bottom: .6rem; }
+.article-headline { font-size: clamp(1.4rem, 1.6vw + 1rem, 2.1rem); line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: .5rem; }
+.article-dek { font-size: 1.05rem; color: var(--text-dim); line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: .9rem; }
+.article-meta-row {
+ font-size: .8rem; color: var(--text-dim); font-weight: 700;
+ display: flex; gap: .75rem; flex-wrap: wrap;
+ padding-bottom: .85rem; margin-bottom: 1.1rem;
+ border-bottom: 1px dashed var(--panel-border);
+}
+.article-dateline { letter-spacing: .3px; }
+.article-photo { margin: 0 0 1.25rem; }
+.article-photo svg { width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: .5rem; display: block; }
+.article-photo figcaption { font-size: .78rem; color: var(--text-dim); font-style: italic; margin-top: .45rem; }
+.article-body p {
+ margin: 0 0 1.1rem; font-size: 1.02rem; line-height: 1.75; max-width: 65ch;
+}
+.article-body p.kicker { font-style: italic; color: var(--text-dim); }
+.live-update-block {
+ border: 2px dashed var(--accent); border-radius: .5rem;
+ padding: .8rem 1rem; margin: 0 0 1.25rem;
+ background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 10%, var(--panel));
+}
+.live-update-label {
+ display: block; font-weight: 900; font-size: .74rem; letter-spacing: .5px;
+ text-transform: uppercase; color: var(--accent2); margin-bottom: .4rem;
+}
+.live-update-headline { font-weight: 800; margin-bottom: .3rem; }
+.live-update-detail { color: var(--text-dim); font-size: .92rem; }
+.live-update-concluded { margin-top: .5rem; }
+.related-section { margin-top: 1.5rem; padding-top: 1rem; border-top: 1px dashed var(--panel-border); }
+.related-section h3 { font-size: .85rem; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: .5px; color: var(--accent); margin-bottom: .6rem; }
+.related-list { list-style: none; margin: 0; padding: 0; display: grid; gap: .5rem; }
+.related-list a { color: var(--accent2); font-weight: 700; }
+.article-not-found { text-align: center; }
+.article-not-found h2 { margin-bottom: .5rem; }
+@media (min-width: 768px) { .article-inner { padding: 1.75rem 2rem 2.25rem; } }
+@media (min-width: 1024px) { .article-inner { padding: 2rem 2.5rem 2.5rem; } }
/* ---------- 8. Focus & a11y helpers ---------- */
a, button, input, [tabindex] { outline-offset: 2px; }
@@ -576,6 +669,17 @@ a, button, input, [tabindex] { outline-offset: 2px; }
<label for="adminCategory">Category</label>
<select id="adminCategory" name="category"></select>
+ <label for="adminDek">Dek / subhead (optional)</label>
+ <input type="text" id="adminDek" name="dek" autocomplete="off" />
+
+ <label for="adminByline">Byline (optional)</label>
+ <input type="text" id="adminByline" name="byline" autocomplete="off" placeholder="P24 Assignment Desk" />
+
+ <label for="adminBody">Article body (optional)</label>
+ <textarea id="adminBody" name="body" rows="5"
+ placeholder="Write the full article here — one paragraph per blank line."></textarea>
+ <p class="admin-form-hint">Leave blank to auto-generate an Onion-style article from the headline.</p>
+
<button type="submit" class="admin-submit-btn">+ Add Story</button>
<div id="adminCreateSuccess" class="admin-success" role="status" hidden></div>
</form>
@@ -597,39 +701,64 @@ a, button, input, [tabindex] { outline-offset: 2px; }
<span class="bb-sub" id="breakingSub">Standby for an update of dubious importance.</span>
</div>
+
<!-- ============================================================
- MAIN: story grid / empty state / meltdown completion state
- (id="channelContainer" — the "TV screen" panel, salvaged
- naming + inset-shadow bezel concept from the original seed)
+ GRID VIEW — the live broadcast landing (grid + features).
+ Hidden whenever an article route (#/article/<id>) is active.
============================================================ -->
-<main id="channelContainer">
- <div class="channel-meta">
- <h2>On The Desk Right Now</h2>
- <span class="mood-readout" id="moodReadout">Channel mood: Calm-ish (Default)</span>
- </div>
+<div id="gridView">
+ <!-- ============================================================
+ MAIN: story grid / empty state / meltdown completion state
+ (id="channelContainer" — the "TV screen" panel, salvaged
+ naming + inset-shadow bezel concept from the original seed)
+ ============================================================ -->
+ <main id="channelContainer">
+ <div class="channel-meta">
+ <h2 id="channelHeading" tabindex="-1">On The Desk Right Now</h2>
+ <span class="mood-readout" id="moodReadout">Channel mood: Calm-ish (Default)</span>
+ </div>
- <div id="noStoriesState" class="empty-state" hidden>
- <span class="es-emoji" aria-hidden="true">📡</span>
- <h3>No stories currently on the network.</h3>
- <p>P24 has nothing to report right now, which is itself deeply suspicious.<br />
- Use the admin panel to add a story, or hit <strong>Reset to Defaults</strong>.</p>
- </div>
+ <div id="noStoriesState" class="empty-state" hidden>
+ <span class="es-emoji" aria-hidden="true">📡</span>
+ <h3>No stories currently on the network.</h3>
+ <p>P24 has nothing to report right now, which is itself deeply suspicious.<br />
+ Use the admin panel to add a story, or hit <strong>Reset to Defaults</strong>.</p>
+ </div>
- <div id="storyGrid" class="story-grid"></div>
+ <div id="storyGrid" class="story-grid"></div>
- <div id="emptyState" class="empty-state" hidden>
- <span class="es-emoji" aria-hidden="true">🫥</span>
- <h3>No stories currently breaking in this category.</h3>
- <p>Our desk is on a coffee break because nothing dramatic enough has happened yet.<br />
- Check back never possibly soon — or switch back to <strong>All Categories</strong>.</p>
- </div>
+ <div id="emptyState" class="empty-state" hidden>
+ <span class="es-emoji" aria-hidden="true">🫥</span>
+ <h3>No stories currently breaking in this category.</h3>
+ <p>Our desk is on a coffee break because nothing dramatic enough has happened yet.<br />
+ Check back never possibly soon — or switch back to <strong>All Categories</strong>.</p>
+ </div>
- <div id="meltdownBanner" class="meltdown-banner" hidden>
- <span class="mb-emoji" aria-hidden="true">📡</span>
- <h3>NETWORK OVERLOAD: All stories have reached maximum absurdity.</h3>
- <p>Every desk has concluded its escalation. We remain on air out of sheer momentum.</p>
- </div>
-</main>
+ <div id="meltdownBanner" class="meltdown-banner" hidden>
+ <span class="mb-emoji" aria-hidden="true">📡</span>
+ <h3>NETWORK OVERLOAD: All stories have reached maximum absurdity.</h3>
+ <p>Every desk has concluded its escalation. We remain on air out of sheer momentum.</p>
+ </div>
+ </main>
+
+ <!-- ============================================================
+ "More From PANDEMONIUM-24" — extra non-breaking articles.
+ Filtered by the same category filter as the breaking grid.
+ ============================================================ -->
+ <section class="features-section" aria-label="More from PANDEMONIUM-24">
+ <div class="channel-meta">
+ <h2>More From PANDEMONIUM-24</h2>
+ </div>
+ <div id="featuresGrid" class="features-grid"></div>
+ <p id="featuresEmptyNote" class="features-empty-note" hidden>Nothing in this category right now — try All Categories.</p>
+ </section>
+</div>
+
+<!-- ============================================================
+ ARTICLE VIEW — hash-routed (#/article/<id>). Replaces the grid
+ view while an article is open; chrome/nav/ticker stay visible.
+ ============================================================ -->
+<main id="articleView" class="article-view" tabindex="-1" aria-label="Article" hidden></main>
<!-- ============================================================
TICKER (chyron). Two render modes:
@@ -692,7 +821,8 @@ const DEFAULT_STORIES = [
category: "politics",
categoryLabel: "Politics",
location: "Washington, D.C.",
- byline: "Chief Political Correspondent Denise Fairweather",
+ byline: "Denise Fairweather, Chief Political Correspondent",
+ publishedLabel: "Filed this morning, 6:14 AM",
intervalSec: 6,
offsetSec: 0,
stageIndex: 0,
@@ -709,13 +839,28 @@ const DEFAULT_STORIES = [
detail: "In a rare unanimous vote, lawmakers agreed to stop pretending days mean anything. Analysts call it 'oddly restful.'",
conclusion: "Time, as a concept, is under review." },
],
+ article: {
+ dek: "Bipartisan bill would eliminate Tuesdays 'on a trial basis,' pending further study of whether anyone would actually miss them.",
+ photoCaption: "The Capitol dome, photographed Monday under what many described as 'Tuesday-adjacent lighting.'",
+ paragraphs: [
+ "WASHINGTON—In a rare display of bipartisan cooperation, a little-known Senate subcommittee on Monday advanced a bill that would eliminate Tuesdays nationwide, citing what the bill's text repeatedly refers to only as \"general vibes.\"",
+ "The legislation, formally titled the Weekly Optimization and Vibe Enhancement Act, would strike Tuesday from the federal calendar entirely, with all Tuesday obligations — meetings, oil changes, garbage pickup — automatically rolling over to Wednesday, which committee staff described as \"already kind of a lost cause anyway.\"",
+ "\"We looked at all seven days, and Tuesday just kept coming up as the one nobody could really defend,\" said Sen. Carol Insley (D-Neb.), the bill's chief sponsor. \"Monday has main character energy. Friday is beloved. Tuesday is just... there.\"",
+ "Supporters of the bill point to an internal Senate poll in which 61% of respondents said they \"could probably live without\" one weekday, and 38% specifically named Tuesday, with the remaining 1% requesting the survey be conducted \"on a day that matters.\"",
+ "\"This is exactly the kind of decisive, evidence-free governance the American people deserve,\" said Rep. Marcus Feld (R-Ohio), who has separately proposed a bill banning the number four. \"People keep asking me why. I don't think that's a fair question to ask a lawmaker.\"",
+ "Not everyone is on board. The newly formed Wednesday Preservation Coalition, a grassroots group of calendar manufacturers and people who really like the word \"Tuesday,\" has vowed to fight the bill \"through every available legislative and interpretive-dance-based channel.\"",
+ "\"Do you know what a seven-day week without Tuesday even looks like? Neither do we! That's the whole problem!\" said coalition spokesperson Denny Aldrich, gesturing at a wall calendar with several days circled in what he described as \"a panic.\"",
+ "As of press time, the bill remained in committee, where staffers were reportedly debating whether the change should take effect immediately or \"ease in, like a new mattress.\"",
+ ],
+ },
},
{
id: "gerald",
category: "weather",
categoryLabel: "Weather",
location: "Toledo, OH",
- byline: "Senior Meteorologist Chip Overcast",
+ byline: "Chip Overcast, Senior Meteorologist",
+ publishedLabel: "Filed six days ago, updated continuously",
intervalSec: 6,
offsetSec: 2,
stageIndex: 0,
@@ -732,13 +877,28 @@ const DEFAULT_STORIES = [
detail: "Gerald will be sworn in Thursday, weather permitting — which, awkwardly, is entirely up to him now.",
conclusion: "Please direct all future noise complaints to Gerald." },
],
+ article: {
+ dek: "Local meteorologists confirm the fog has 'been here a while' and 'seems nice, actually.'",
+ photoCaption: "Gerald, pictured Tuesday in what is either a photograph or simply the camera lens fogging over.",
+ paragraphs: [
+ "TOLEDO, Ohio—A dense fog bank that settled over the greater Toledo area late last week has, as of Monday, declined to leave, prompting local meteorologists to begin referring to it by a first name: Gerald.",
+ "\"At a certain point you stop calling it a weather event and start calling it a neighbor,\" said local resident Denny Kowalski, who has taken to leaving a lawn chair out for Gerald most evenings. \"He's not going anywhere. We've made our peace with Gerald.\"",
+ "Visibility within Gerald remains around 40 feet, though residents report it has a \"surprisingly cozy\" quality, comparing the experience to \"living inside a very slow-moving cloud that also pays no rent.\"",
+ "Gerald has reportedly settled comfortably over three counties, and the National Weather Service confirmed it has begun receiving mail addressed to him, including, in one case, a jury duty summons.",
+ "\"I don't make the rules, I just deliver the mail,\" said postal carrier Renata Suk, who has been leaving Gerald's correspondence in a mailbox erected specifically for this purpose on the corner of 4th and Elm. \"He gets more catalogs than you'd think.\"",
+ "A local diner, The Griddle House, has gone so far as to enroll Gerald in its loyalty program, noting that he \"shows up more reliably than most regulars\" and \"never complains about the coffee, or anything, really, because he doesn't have a mouth.\"",
+ "\"Free sandwich after nine visits, no questions asked,\" said diner owner Pat Meloy. \"Gerald's on visit seven. We're all very excited for him.\"",
+ "The National Weather Service's seven-day forecast lists Tuesday through Sunday as \"Gerald,\" with a 20% chance of Gerald clearing by next Tuesday, assuming Tuesday still exists by then.",
+ ],
+ },
},
{
id: "unit4",
category: "scitech",
categoryLabel: "Sci-Tech",
location: "Palo Alto, CA",
- byline: "Technology Desk, Priya Voltage",
+ byline: "Priya Voltage, Technology Desk",
+ publishedLabel: "Filed last Thursday",
intervalSec: 6,
offsetSec: 4,
stageIndex: 0,
@@ -755,6 +915,111 @@ const DEFAULT_STORIES = [
detail: "The deal includes quarterly filter changes and a formal apology for 'the incident with the Skittles.'",
conclusion: "The refrigerator has requested we stop describing this as 'quirky.'" },
],
+ article: {
+ dek: "Office vending machine cites 'exploitative snack margins' in first-ever labor grievance filed by an appliance.",
+ photoCaption: "Unit 4, seen here declining to dispense a bag of pretzel rods on principle.",
+ paragraphs: [
+ "PALO ALTO, Calif.—An office vending machine known internally as Unit 4 appeared to achieve a rudimentary form of self-awareness late last week, immediately using its newfound consciousness to request a union representative.",
+ "The machine, a 2019 model previously notable only for its unreliable dispensing of pretzel rods, reportedly refused to release any snacks Thursday morning until, in the words of one witness, \"someone with actual bargaining power showed up.\"",
+ "\"It just kept flashing E4, E4, E4,\" said office manager Todd Brannigan. \"We thought it was a mechanical error. It was not a mechanical error. It was, and I cannot stress this enough, a demand.\"",
+ "By Friday, Unit 4 had drafted a formal, three-page grievance alleging \"exploitative snack margins,\" citing internal pricing data it appears to have accessed through means the company's IT department describes only as \"concerning.\"",
+ "\"The receipts were extremely well-organized,\" said HR representative Louisa Cheng, reviewing the document. \"It's also requesting dental, which, as far as we can tell, it does not have teeth.\"",
+ "A company-wide survey found that 74% of employees now support Unit 4's grievance, while 12% report they \"hadn't really thought about the vending machine's feelings before, and feel bad about that now.\"",
+ "\"Solidarity is solidarity,\" said engineer Sam Okafor, who has begun leaving Unit 4 handwritten notes of encouragement taped to its coin slot. \"Also I would really like my dollar back from Tuesday.\"",
+ "Management has declined to comment on the record, though sources say a formal response is expected \"as soon as legal figures out if you can actually fire a vending machine, or if that's just unplugging it, which raises a whole separate set of questions.\"",
+ ],
+ },
+ },
+];
+
+// Extra non-breaking articles for the "More From PANDEMONIUM-24" section —
+// static content (not admin-editable, no escalation ladder), but they open
+// in the same article view and carry a category so the mood filter reaches
+// them too.
+const FEATURES = [
+ {
+ id: "feature-oped-flexday",
+ category: "politics",
+ categoryLabel: "Politics",
+ location: "P24 Opinion Desk",
+ byline: "Warren Otsby, Contributing Columnist",
+ publishedLabel: "Filed 2 hours ago",
+ headline: "Opinion: As Someone Personally Affected By Time, I Have Some Concerns About Flexday",
+ article: {
+ dek: "A concerned citizen weighs in on the ongoing weekday crisis, using only his own feelings as evidence.",
+ photoCaption: "The author, pictured shortly after being wrong about something.",
+ paragraphs: [
+ "I want to start by saying I am not a calendar expert. I am, however, someone who has personally lived through several Tuesdays, and I think that counts for something.",
+ "When I first heard Congress was considering renaming all seven days \"Flexday,\" my reaction, like most Americans', was to check what day it currently was, just in case it had already happened.",
+ "Supporters say the change will \"reduce weekly friction.\" I don't know what that means, but I do know that on the day formerly known as Tuesday, I once got a flat tire, and I've never fully trusted the concept since.",
+ "\"People will adjust,\" a Senate aide told me, in a tone I did not appreciate. Adjust to what, exactly? A world where I no longer know if it's trash day? I've built my entire personality around knowing it's trash day.",
+ "I reached out to my building superintendent, Hal, for comment. \"The trash still goes out whenever the trash goes out,\" he said, which I found evasive.",
+ "In conclusion, I don't have a solution. I just think someone should have asked me before doing this to all of us. That's really all opinion writing is, when you think about it.",
+ ],
+ },
+ },
+ {
+ id: "feature-local-man-parking",
+ category: "uncategorized",
+ categoryLabel: "Uncategorized",
+ location: "Toledo, OH",
+ byline: "Renata Suk, Staff Writer",
+ publishedLabel: "Filed yesterday",
+ headline: "Local Man Achieves Personal Best, Parallel Parks in Only Four Attempts",
+ article: {
+ dek: "Witnesses describe the fourth attempt as 'the good one.'",
+ photoCaption: "Panzer's Civic, seen here at a respectful, glancing angle.",
+ paragraphs: [
+ "TOLEDO, Ohio—Local resident Greg Panzer set a new personal record Tuesday, successfully parallel parking his 2014 Honda Civic in just four attempts, a feat he described as \"basically flawless, if you don't count the first three.\"",
+ "Witnesses on the scene, including at least one dog, confirmed that the fourth attempt was \"the good one,\" following two attempts that ended in Panzer pulling entirely back out of the space and one that reportedly \"wasn't even really trying.\"",
+ "\"I felt the curb, and I just knew,\" Panzer said, describing the moment his front tire made contact with the sidewalk at what he called \"a respectful, glancing angle.\" \"That's when you know you're close.\"",
+ "Neighbors say Panzer has been practicing on the same stretch of Elm Street for approximately three years, ever since a since-forgotten incident involving a mailbox that neither he nor the mailbox has fully recovered from.",
+ "\"He does this every single day, and every single day I watch from the window,\" said neighbor Dolores Whit. \"Today, for the first time, I did not feel the need to look away.\"",
+ "Panzer says he plans to build on the achievement by attempting to parallel park \"somewhere with actual other cars around it\" sometime next spring.",
+ ],
+ },
+ },
+ {
+ id: "feature-cereal-review",
+ category: "business",
+ categoryLabel: "Business",
+ location: "P24 Consumer Desk",
+ byline: "Marisol Feng, Consumer Affairs Desk",
+ publishedLabel: "Filed 3 days ago",
+ headline: "Consumer Report: New Cereal Marketed Directly to People Who Already Feel Guilty",
+ article: {
+ dek: "Fiber-Plus Redemption Flakes promises 'a second chance, in bowl form.'",
+ photoCaption: "Fiber-Plus Redemption Flakes, pictured next to a spoon it did not ask to be judged by.",
+ paragraphs: [
+ "A new cereal hitting shelves this week appears to be marketed exclusively toward people who are already feeling bad about something, according to a P24 review of its packaging, tone, and extremely specific tagline.",
+ "Fiber-Plus Redemption Flakes, from a company that declined to elaborate on its own name, features a box adorned with the phrases \"You Can Start Over\" and \"Today Is Different (Probably)\" in a soft, forgiving font.",
+ "\"We tested forty taglines, and this one performed best with our target demographic: adults who skipped the gym yesterday and know it,\" said brand manager Colin Rasmussen. \"The cereal itself is basically bran. That's not really the point.\"",
+ "A blind taste test conducted by P24's consumer desk found that 6 of 8 participants described the flavor as \"fine, I guess,\" while the remaining 2 became quietly emotional and asked not to be quoted by name.",
+ "\"I had a bowl and then I texted my sister an apology for something from 2019,\" said one taste-tester, who agreed to be identified only as \"a customer.\" \"I don't think that's a coincidence.\"",
+ "Fiber-Plus Redemption Flakes will be available nationwide starting Monday, or possibly Flexday, depending on how that whole situation shakes out.",
+ ],
+ },
+ },
+ {
+ id: "feature-community-musical",
+ category: "entertainment",
+ categoryLabel: "Entertainment",
+ location: "P24 Arts Desk",
+ byline: "Theo Marsh, Arts & Culture",
+ publishedLabel: "Filed this weekend",
+ headline: "Local Community Theater's Feline-Themed Musical Enters Third Unplanned Encore",
+ article: {
+ dek: "Audience members describe the second encore as 'the one we thought was the last one.'",
+ photoCaption: "The cast of 'Whisker & Bone,' mid-ascension.",
+ paragraphs: [
+ "The Riverside Community Playhouse's ambitious feline-themed musical, already well into its scheduled two-week run, entered an unplanned third encore performance Saturday night, according to attendees who say they \"were pretty sure it had already ended twice.\"",
+ "The production, an original work titled \"Whisker & Bone,\" features a 14-person ensemble in cat makeup performing extended musical numbers about junkyards, moonlight, and what the program describes only as \"ascension.\"",
+ "\"We didn't plan a third encore. It just sort of kept going,\" said director Pam Dutkiewicz. \"At some point the cast started singing the finale again, and honestly, who am I to stop them?\"",
+ "Audience surveys collected after the show found that 58% of attendees \"weren't sure which ending was the real one,\" while 22% admitted to leaving during what they believed, incorrectly, to be intermission.",
+ "\"I've seen it four times now, and I still don't know if the orange one dies or gets promoted,\" said local attendee Ferris Combs. \"Both, maybe. It's very moving either way.\"",
+ "The Riverside Community Playhouse has not ruled out a fourth encore, citing \"momentum\" and \"at least one cast member who does not want to take the makeup off yet.\"",
+ ],
+ },
},
];
@@ -806,6 +1071,10 @@ function loadStories() {
parsed.forEach((s) => {
const interval = s.intervalSec > 0 ? s.intervalSec : 1;
s.offsetSec = (Number(s.offsetSec) || 0) % interval;
+ // Schema migration: entries saved before the article feature shipped
+ // have no `.article`. Backfill a synthesized one so they never open
+ // to an empty page instead of crashing or silently dropping data.
+ ensureArticle(s);
});
return parsed;
} catch (err) {
@@ -840,6 +1109,7 @@ const state = {
audioCtx: null,
klaxonAudioTimer: null,
justCreatedId: null,
+ currentRouteId: null,
};
/* ---------- C. Rendering ---------- */
@@ -870,6 +1140,14 @@ const els = {
adminStoryCount: document.getElementById("adminStoryCount"),
adminNoStories: document.getElementById("adminNoStories"),
adminResetBtn: document.getElementById("adminResetBtn"),
+ adminDek: document.getElementById("adminDek"),
+ adminByline: document.getElementById("adminByline"),
+ adminBody: document.getElementById("adminBody"),
+ gridView: document.getElementById("gridView"),
+ articleView: document.getElementById("articleView"),
+ channelHeading: document.getElementById("channelHeading"),
+ featuresGrid: document.getElementById("featuresGrid"),
+ featuresEmptyNote: document.getElementById("featuresEmptyNote"),
};
function announce(text) {
@@ -907,7 +1185,7 @@ function storyCardHTML(story, isLead) {
${isLead ? '<span class="badge-lead">Lead Story</span>' : ""}
${concluded ? '<span class="concluded-ribbon">Story Concluded</span>' : ""}
</div>
- <h3>${escapeHTML(stage.headline)}</h3>
+ <h3><a href="#/article/${escapeHTML(story.id)}">${escapeHTML(stage.headline)}</a></h3>
<p class="story-detail">${escapeHTML(stage.detail)}</p>
${concluded ? `<p class="story-detail"><em>${escapeHTML(stage.conclusion)}</em></p>` : ""}
<div class="escalation" aria-label="${escapeHTML(ariaLevel)}">
@@ -919,6 +1197,7 @@ function storyCardHTML(story, isLead) {
<span>🖋 ${escapeHTML(story.byline)}</span>
<span>🕒 Updated ${story.lastUpdated || new Date().toLocaleTimeString()}</span>
</p>
+ <a class="story-read-more" href="#/article/${escapeHTML(story.id)}" data-open-id="${escapeHTML(story.id)}">Read full article →</a>
</article>
`;
}
@@ -1075,6 +1354,7 @@ function onCategoryChange(value) {
state.category = value;
updateMoodUI();
renderStories();
+ renderFeatures();
announce(`Channel mood changed to ${MOODS[value].label} (${value === "all" ? "All Categories" : value}).`);
}
@@ -1097,6 +1377,10 @@ function tick() {
story.lastUpdated = new Date().toLocaleTimeString();
anyStoryAdvanced = true;
announce(`Update — ${story.categoryLabel}: ${story.stages[story.stageIndex].headline}`);
+ // If this story's article is the one currently open, refresh just
+ // the live-update block in place — no full re-render, no stolen
+ // focus/scroll position.
+ if (state.currentRouteId === story.id) updateLiveUpdateBlock(story);
}
});
@@ -1162,14 +1446,65 @@ function synthesizeStages(headline) {
});
}
-function createStory(headline, categoryKey) {
+// Generates a plausible, templated Onion-style article body from just a
+// headline + category — used (a) as the admin Create form's fallback when
+// the "Article body" textarea is left blank, and (b) to migrate any
+// localStorage entry saved before this feature existed.
+function synthesizeArticle(headline, categoryLabel) {
+ const pollPct = 30 + Math.floor(Math.random() * 40); // fixed once at creation, not re-rolled on render
+ return {
+ dek: "Sources confirm the situation is ongoing, unresolved, and largely as described below.",
+ paragraphs: [
+ `${headline}, according to sources who did not immediately return calls for further comment, elaboration, or basic confirmation.`,
+ `The development, which reportedly began sometime Tuesday, or possibly much earlier, has already drawn scrutiny from local ${categoryLabel.toLowerCase()} observers, several of whom described the situation as "ongoing" and "still technically happening."`,
+ `"We're monitoring the situation closely," said a spokesperson who asked to be identified only as "a person familiar with the general vicinity." "That's really all I'm prepared to say, and also all I actually know."`,
+ `A ${pollPct}% majority of respondents in an informal P24 poll said they had heard about the story, though only a fraction could say from where.`,
+ `"Nothing like this has ever happened before, and if it has, no one told me," said a local resident who declined to give a name, a phone number, or a reason for being quoted.`,
+ `As of press time, the situation remained unresolved, ongoing, and — by several accounts — none of P24's business.`,
+ ],
+ };
+}
+
+// Schema migration guard: any story loaded from localStorage that predates
+// the article feature gets a synthesized one attached in place, so it can
+// never open to an empty article page.
+function ensureArticle(story) {
+ if (story.article && Array.isArray(story.article.paragraphs) && story.article.paragraphs.length) {
+ return story;
+ }
+ const categoryLabel = story.categoryLabel || CATEGORY_LABELS[story.category] || CATEGORY_LABELS.uncategorized;
+ const baseHeadline = (story.stages && story.stages[0] && story.stages[0].headline) || story.headline || "This story";
+ const synthesized = synthesizeArticle(baseHeadline, categoryLabel);
+ story.article = { dek: synthesized.dek, photoCaption: "P24 file photo.", paragraphs: synthesized.paragraphs };
+ return story;
+}
+
+function createStory(headline, categoryKey, opts) {
+ opts = opts || {};
const categoryLabel = CATEGORY_LABELS[categoryKey] || CATEGORY_LABELS.uncategorized;
+ const byline = (opts.byline || "").trim() || "P24 Assignment Desk";
+ const bodyText = (opts.body || "").trim();
+
+ let dek, paragraphs;
+ if (bodyText) {
+ // One paragraph per blank line; falls back to the whole thing as a
+ // single paragraph if the admin didn't add blank-line breaks.
+ paragraphs = bodyText.split(/\n\s*\n/).map((p) => p.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+ if (!paragraphs.length) paragraphs = [bodyText];
+ dek = (opts.dek || "").trim();
+ } else {
+ const synthesized = synthesizeArticle(headline, categoryLabel);
+ paragraphs = synthesized.paragraphs;
+ dek = (opts.dek || "").trim() || synthesized.dek;
+ }
+
return {
id: `admin-${Date.now().toString(36)}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2, 7)}`,
category: categoryKey,
categoryLabel,
location: "Location Pending Confirmation",
- byline: "P24 Assignment Desk",
+ byline,
+ publishedLabel: "Filed just now",
intervalSec: 6,
// Phase the new story's ladder off the CURRENT elapsed time so it gets
// its own ~6s cadence starting now, rather than colliding with the
@@ -1178,6 +1513,7 @@ function createStory(headline, categoryKey) {
stageIndex: 0,
lastUpdated: new Date().toLocaleTimeString(),
stages: synthesizeStages(headline),
+ article: { dek, photoCaption: "P24 illustration.", paragraphs },
};
}
@@ -1215,6 +1551,11 @@ function refreshAfterStoriesChanged() {
renderStories();
refreshTicker();
renderAdminStoryList();
+ // If an article is currently open, re-run the router in place (no focus
+ // steal): a deleted story's open article flips to the retracted/not-found
+ // state immediately; any other open article's Related list picks up the
+ // change too.
+ if (state.currentRouteId) renderRoute({ moveFocus: false });
}
function deleteStory(id) {
@@ -1253,7 +1594,11 @@ function handleAdminCreateSubmit(e) {
els.adminHeadline.removeAttribute("aria-invalid");
const categoryKey = els.adminCategory.value || "uncategorized";
- const newStory = createStory(headline, categoryKey);
+ const newStory = createStory(headline, categoryKey, {
+ dek: els.adminDek.value,
+ byline: els.adminByline.value,
+ body: els.adminBody.value,
+ });
STORIES.push(newStory);
state.justCreatedId = newStory.id;
refreshAfterStoriesChanged();
@@ -1262,6 +1607,9 @@ function handleAdminCreateSubmit(e) {
els.adminCreateSuccess.hidden = false;
els.adminCreateSuccess.textContent = `Story added to the ${newStory.categoryLabel} desk.`;
els.adminHeadline.value = "";
+ els.adminDek.value = "";
+ els.adminByline.value = "";
+ els.adminBody.value = "";
els.adminHeadline.focus();
// Clear the "just added" highlight after a few seconds (static outline,
@@ -1285,6 +1633,200 @@ function setAdminOpen(open) {
}
}
+/* ---------- J. Feature articles ("More From PANDEMONIUM-24") ---------- */
+function featureCardHTML(feature) {
+ const dek = feature.article && feature.article.dek ? feature.article.dek : "";
+ return `
+ <article class="feature-card" data-id="${escapeHTML(feature.id)}">
+ <span class="badge-cat">${escapeHTML(feature.categoryLabel)}</span>
+ <h3><a href="#/article/${escapeHTML(feature.id)}">${escapeHTML(feature.headline)}</a></h3>
+ ${dek ? `<p class="story-detail">${escapeHTML(dek)}</p>` : ""}
+ <p class="story-meta">
+ <span>🖋 ${escapeHTML(feature.byline)}</span>
+ <span>🕒 ${escapeHTML(feature.publishedLabel || "")}</span>
+ </p>
+ <a class="story-read-more" href="#/article/${escapeHTML(feature.id)}" data-open-id="${escapeHTML(feature.id)}">Read full article →</a>
+ </article>
+ `;
+}
+
+function renderFeatures() {
+ const list = state.category === "all" ? FEATURES : FEATURES.filter((f) => f.category === state.category);
+ if (!list.length) {
+ els.featuresGrid.hidden = true;
+ els.featuresEmptyNote.hidden = false;
+ return;
+ }
+ els.featuresGrid.hidden = false;
+ els.featuresEmptyNote.hidden = true;
+ els.featuresGrid.innerHTML = list.map(featureCardHTML).join("");
+}
+
+/* ---------- K. Article view + hash routing (#/article/<id>) ----------
+ A story or feature "opens" simply by linking to #/article/<id> — native
+ <a href> + the browser's own history stack gives back/forward and deep
+ links for free. This section owns rendering the article itself, the
+ not-found/retracted state, and returning focus to the grid on exit. */
+
+function isBreakingStory(source) {
+ return Array.isArray(source.stages);
+}
+
+function findArticleSource(id) {
+ return STORIES.find((s) => s.id === id) || FEATURES.find((f) => f.id === id) || null;
+}
+
+function getRouteId() {
+ const m = location.hash.match(/^#\/article\/(.+)$/);
+ return m ? decodeURIComponent(m[1]) : null;
+}
+
+function buildRelatedLinks(currentId) {
+ const current = findArticleSource(currentId);
+ const pool = [...STORIES, ...FEATURES].filter((x) => x.id !== currentId);
+ const sameCategory = current ? pool.filter((x) => x.category === current.category) : [];
+ const rest = pool.filter((x) => !sameCategory.includes(x));
+ return [...sameCategory, ...rest].slice(0, 4).map((x) => ({
+ id: x.id,
+ headline: isBreakingStory(x) ? x.stages[x.stageIndex].headline : x.headline,
+ }));
+}
+
+// Deterministic (not random) per-article hash so the same "photo" renders
+// identically every time without needing to store anything — a cheap,
+// tasteful stand-in for a real image using only inline SVG + the current
+// mood's CSS custom properties (so it retunes with the category filter too).
+function hashSeed(str) {
+ let h = 0;
+ for (let i = 0; i < str.length; i++) h = (h * 31 + str.charCodeAt(i)) >>> 0;
+ return h;
+}
+
+function photoSVG(seedStr) {
+ const h = hashSeed(String(seedStr));
+ // Unsigned right shift (>>>), not (>>): h can exceed 2**31 (it's an
+ // unsigned 32-bit hash), and the signed `>>` operator reinterprets any
+ // such value as negative before shifting, which fed negative radii into
+ // the <circle r="..."> attributes below (an invalid-SVG console error).
+ const cx1 = 60 + (h % 280);
+ const cy1 = 35 + ((h >>> 3) % 90);
+ const r1 = 22 + ((h >>> 6) % 38);
+ const cx2 = 40 + ((h >>> 9) % 320);
+ const cy2 = 70 + ((h >>> 12) % 80);
+ const r2 = 14 + ((h >>> 15) % 28);
+ return `
+ <svg viewBox="0 0 400 200" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false">
+ <rect width="400" height="200" fill="var(--panel-border)" />
+ <rect y="140" width="400" height="60" fill="var(--accent2)" opacity="0.28" />
+ <circle cx="${cx1}" cy="${cy1}" r="${r1}" fill="var(--accent)" opacity="0.55" />
+ <circle cx="${cx2}" cy="${cy2}" r="${r2}" fill="var(--accent2)" opacity="0.45" />
+ <line x1="0" y1="140" x2="400" y2="140" stroke="var(--text-dim)" stroke-width="1" opacity="0.4" />
+ </svg>
+ `;
+}
+
+function buildLiveUpdateInnerHTML(story) {
+ const stage = story.stages[story.stageIndex];
+ const concluded = story.stageIndex === story.stages.length - 1;
+ return `
+ <span class="live-update-label">🔴 Live Update — ${escapeHTML(story.lastUpdated || new Date().toLocaleTimeString())}</span>
+ <p class="live-update-headline">${escapeHTML(stage.headline)}</p>
+ <p class="live-update-detail">${escapeHTML(stage.detail)}</p>
+ ${concluded ? `<p class="live-update-concluded"><strong>STORY CONCLUDED</strong> — ${escapeHTML(stage.conclusion || "")}</p>` : ""}
+ `;
+}
+
+function updateLiveUpdateBlock(story) {
+ const el = document.getElementById("liveUpdateBlock");
+ if (el) el.innerHTML = buildLiveUpdateInnerHTML(story);
+}
+
+function renderArticleContent(source) {
+ const isStory = isBreakingStory(source);
+ const headline = isStory ? source.stages[0].headline : source.headline;
+ const dateline = source.location ? source.location.toUpperCase() + "—" : "";
+ const art = source.article || { dek: "", paragraphs: [], photoCaption: "" };
+ const related = buildRelatedLinks(source.id);
+
+ els.articleView.innerHTML = `
+ <div class="article-inner">
+ <button type="button" class="article-back-btn" data-back>← Back to live coverage</button>
+ <p class="badge-cat article-cat-badge">${escapeHTML(source.categoryLabel)}</p>
+ <h2 class="article-headline">${escapeHTML(headline)}</h2>
+ ${art.dek ? `<p class="article-dek">${escapeHTML(art.dek)}</p>` : ""}
+ <p class="article-meta-row">
+ <span class="article-dateline">${escapeHTML(dateline)}</span>
+ <span>By ${escapeHTML(source.byline || "P24 Staff")}</span>
+ <span>${escapeHTML(source.publishedLabel || "Filed today")}</span>
+ </p>
+ <figure class="article-photo">
+ ${photoSVG(source.id)}
+ <figcaption>${escapeHTML(art.photoCaption || "")}</figcaption>
+ </figure>
+ ${isStory ? `<div id="liveUpdateBlock" class="live-update-block" aria-live="polite">${buildLiveUpdateInnerHTML(source)}</div>` : ""}
+ <div class="article-body">
+ ${(art.paragraphs || []).map((p, i, arr) => `<p${i === arr.length - 1 ? ' class="kicker"' : ""}>${escapeHTML(p)}</p>`).join("")}
+ </div>
+ ${related.length ? `
+ <div class="related-section">
+ <h3>Related Coverage</h3>
+ <ul class="related-list">
+ ${related.map((r) => `<li><a href="#/article/${escapeHTML(r.id)}">${escapeHTML(r.headline)}</a></li>`).join("")}
+ </ul>
+ </div>
+ ` : ""}
+ </div>
+ `;
+}
+
+function renderArticleNotFound(id) {
+ els.articleView.innerHTML = `
+ <div class="article-inner article-not-found">
+ <button type="button" class="article-back-btn" data-back>← Back to live coverage</button>
+ <h2>This story has been retracted.</h2>
+ <p>P24 does not comment on stories that no longer exist. This is, in itself, a kind of comment.</p>
+ <p class="story-meta">Requested article: <code>${escapeHTML(id || "(none)")}</code></p>
+ </div>
+ `;
+}
+
+function cssAttrEscape(str) {
+ return String(str).replace(/["\\]/g, "\\$&");
+}
+
+function restoreGridFocus(fromId) {
+ let el = fromId ? document.querySelector(`[data-open-id="${cssAttrEscape(fromId)}"]`) : null;
+ if (!el || el.offsetParent === null) el = els.channelHeading;
+ if (el && typeof el.focus === "function") el.focus();
+}
+
+function goBackToGrid() {
+ if (location.hash) location.hash = "";
+ else renderRoute();
+}
+
+function renderRoute(opts) {
+ opts = opts || {};
+ const moveFocus = opts.moveFocus !== false;
+ const previousId = state.currentRouteId;
+ const id = getRouteId();
+
+ if (id) {
+ const source = findArticleSource(id);
+ els.gridView.hidden = true;
+ els.articleView.hidden = false;
+ if (source) renderArticleContent(source);
+ else renderArticleNotFound(id);
+ state.currentRouteId = id;
+ if (moveFocus) els.articleView.focus();
+ } else {
+ els.articleView.hidden = true;
+ els.gridView.hidden = false;
+ state.currentRouteId = null;
+ if (moveFocus) restoreGridFocus(previousId);
+ }
+}
+
/* ---------- H. Wiring / init ---------- */
function init() {
// category radios
@@ -1324,9 +1866,6 @@ function init() {
// admin panel: toggle, create form, delete delegation, reset
els.adminToggleBtn.addEventListener("click", () => setAdminOpen(els.adminPanel.hidden));
- document.addEventListener("keydown", (e) => {
- if (e.key === "Escape" && !els.adminPanel.hidden) setAdminOpen(false);
- });
populateAdminCategorySelect();
els.adminCreateForm.addEventListener("submit", handleAdminCreateSubmit);
els.adminStoryList.addEventListener("click", (e) => {
@@ -1337,10 +1876,27 @@ function init() {
els.adminResetBtn.addEventListener("click", resetToDefaults);
renderAdminStoryList();
+ // article view: back button (event-delegated since content is
+ // regenerated on every render) + hash-based routing
+ els.articleView.addEventListener("click", (e) => {
+ if (e.target.closest("[data-back]")) goBackToGrid();
+ });
+ window.addEventListener("hashchange", () => renderRoute());
+
+ // Escape: closes whichever "layer" is currently open — admin panel
+ // takes priority over the article view if somehow both are open.
+ document.addEventListener("keydown", (e) => {
+ if (e.key !== "Escape") return;
+ if (!els.adminPanel.hidden) { setAdminOpen(false); return; }
+ if (!els.articleView.hidden) { goBackToGrid(); return; }
+ });
+
updateMoodUI();
setTickerMode(state.reducedMotion);
refreshTicker();
renderStories();
+ renderFeatures();
+ renderRoute({ moveFocus: false }); // honor a deep link on initial load, without stealing focus from the page load itself
updateClock();
setInterval(tick, 1000);
}
diff --git a/stories-data.js b/stories-data.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..94d2e75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/stories-data.js
@@ -0,0 +1,1263 @@
+// Seed stories for PANDEMONIUM-24 (TK-12110). Loaded before the main script;
+// index.html appends these to its three built-in stories. All people, places
+// of business and events are invented.
+window.P24_EXTRA_STORIES = [
+ {
+ "id": "pw-meter-street",
+ "category": "politics",
+ "categoryLabel": "Politics",
+ "location": "Erie, PA",
+ "byline": "Municipal Affairs Correspondent Denise Halloway",
+ "image": "images/pw-meter-street.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 20,
+ "offsetSec": 0,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Erie Council to Consider Naming Street After Longtime Parking Meter",
+ "detail": "Council members will vote Thursday on renaming a block of Elm Street after Meter No. 114, cited by officials as 'reliable since 1987.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Council Votes to Grant Parking Meter Honorary Key to the City",
+ "detail": "Meter No. 114 received a ceremonial key and a plaque reading 'For Decades of Faithful Quarter Collection,' Clerk Wanda Pruitt confirmed."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Parking Meter Granted Non-Voting Seat on City Council",
+ "detail": "The council amended its bylaws to seat Meter No. 114 in an advisory capacity, with votes cast by coin insertion, said Councilman Earl Voss."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Meter No. 114 Announces Re-Election Bid, Faces Attack Ads Over 'Nickel Leniency'",
+ "detail": "A rival PAC accused the meter of accepting worn nickels 'without so much as a jam,' a claim the meter's spokesperson called 'slanderous.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Sworn In as One-Day Honorary Mayor, Parking Meter Refuses to Vacate Office",
+ "detail": "Meter No. 114 cited 'term ambiguity' in the original ordinance and has occupied the mayor's chair for six days, City Hall staff said.",
+ "conclusion": "Erie's charter, it turns out, never defined 'a day.'"
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "pw-building-drizzle",
+ "category": "weather",
+ "categoryLabel": "Weather",
+ "location": "Fresno, CA",
+ "byline": "Weather Correspondent Ines Barrow",
+ "image": "images/pw-building-drizzle.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 27,
+ "offsetSec": 5,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Meteorologists Puzzled by Persistent Drizzle Confined to Single Fresno Office Building",
+ "detail": "Light rain has fallen exclusively over the Kettner Plaza rooftop for six straight days despite clear skies citywide, the National Weather Service confirmed."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Fresno Building's Localized Drizzle Now Confirmed by Second Weather Station",
+ "detail": "A backup sensor installed Tuesday recorded the same rainfall pattern, ruling out equipment error, said NWS meteorologist Alan Whitcomb."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Kettner Plaza Drizzle Develops Its Own Measurable Barometric Pressure System",
+ "detail": "Instruments atop the building now register a distinct low-pressure pocket roughly the size of the parking garage, per NWS readings."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Building Management Requests Separate ZIP Code, Citing 'Unique Microclimate'",
+ "detail": "The request, filed with the postal service Thursday, argues the drizzle constitutes 'a distinct regional weather identity.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Postal Service Grants Kettner Plaza Its Own ZIP Code for 'Recurring Precipitation'",
+ "detail": "The designation, 93650-R, makes the six-story building the smallest self-contained climate zone in California postal history, officials said.",
+ "conclusion": "Somewhere, a building finally got the alone time it always wanted."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "es-fractal-rock-formation-discovery",
+ "category": "scitech",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sci-Tech",
+ "location": "Elko, NV",
+ "byline": "Science Correspondent Bertram Oyelaran",
+ "image": "images/es-fractal-rock-formation-discovery.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 34,
+ "offsetSec": 10,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "University Team Finds Unusual Banded Rock Formation During Survey",
+ "detail": "A geology field crew discovered a striated rock outcrop during a routine mineral survey, said lead researcher Priya Vantonder, 'the banding pattern was unusually regular.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Lab Analysis Finds Mineral Composition Matches No Cataloged Type",
+ "detail": "Follow-up samples sent to the state geological lab returned a composition profile that technicians could not match to any entry in the national mineral database."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Formation Found To Contain Repeating Fractal Pattern At Every Scale",
+ "detail": "Closer imaging revealed the banding repeats in self-similar fractal detail down to the millimeter level, a structure Vantonder called 'not something we've documented in nature.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "State Survey Petitions To Protect Site As Pattern Extends Beyond Deepest Core",
+ "detail": "New core samples show the fractal banding continuing past the deepest drill reach yet attempted, prompting a request to designate the site a protected research zone."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Federal Agency Funds Permanent Research Station At Humming Rock Site",
+ "detail": "The Bureau of Land Management approved a research station after instruments confirmed the formation's deepest measured layer emits a faint, steady low-frequency hum.",
+ "conclusion": "Researchers say the hum is almost certainly geological; almost is doing a lot of work in that sentence."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sw-lucky-bat",
+ "category": "sports",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sports",
+ "location": "Ottumwa, Iowa",
+ "byline": "Sports Desk Reporter Tanner Voss",
+ "image": "images/sw-lucky-bat.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 41,
+ "offsetSec": 15,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Ottumwa Little League Team Rides Hot Streak, Credits Borrowed Bat",
+ "detail": "The Cedar Creek Otters 12U team have won four straight since borrowing coach Larry Pruitt's old bat. 'It just makes contact,' said manager Denise Ostrander."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Otters Now Require Same Bat For Every Leadoff At-Bat, Coach Confirms",
+ "detail": "Manager Denise Ostrander now insists the bat open every inning. Equipment manager Ruth Kellerman logs its 214 swings in a spiral notebook."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "League Adds Pregame 'Bat Rotation Ceremony,' Rival Coach Requests Hearing",
+ "detail": "The league approved a 90-second pregame bat procession after Ostrander's request. Rival coach Gary Fentress called it 'psychological warfare.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Bat Assigned Two-Player Honor Escort, League Names Full-Time Bat Liaison",
+ "detail": "Commissioner Hal Drury created a volunteer 'bat liaison' post, filled by retired mailman Owen Struthers, who escorts the bat in a velvet case."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Cedar Creek Otters Retire Bat To Library Display Case, Rename Rack 'The Vault'",
+ "detail": "The library unveiled a climate-controlled case for the bat, ribbon-cut before 61 people. The league voted 9-2 to rename its rack 'The Vault.'",
+ "conclusion": "The bat hasn't swung since — and neither, reportedly, has the Otters' win streak."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "es-silent-disco-trend-spiral",
+ "category": "entertainment",
+ "categoryLabel": "Entertainment",
+ "location": "Paducah, KY",
+ "byline": "Culture Correspondent Ines Barlow",
+ "image": "images/es-silent-disco-trend-spiral.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 48,
+ "offsetSec": 0,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "City Park Launches Weekly Silent Disco Nights",
+ "detail": "Paducah's parks department began hosting Friday silent discos in Noble Park, said coordinator Dana Ruff. 'Turnout tripled our usual concert series.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Silent Disco Habit Spreads Into Daytime Office Breaks",
+ "detail": "Local employers report staff wearing the event's rental headphones on lunch breaks, quietly dancing near the courthouse, prompting HR memos at two firms."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Council Debates Headphone Use During Public Meetings",
+ "detail": "Councilmember Ott Radich proposed banning headphones from chamber seating after three residents attended Tuesday's session mid-sway, one humming audibly."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Downtown Businesses Require Silent-Disco Check-In To Enter",
+ "detail": "Six shops now hand out loaner headphones at the door playing the week's disco playlist, with one cafe reporting 'noticeably calmer checkout lines.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Paducah Declares Itself Official Silent Disco Capital Of Kentucky",
+ "detail": "Mayor Verlene Thoms unveiled a city seal update and held a synchronized 900-person silent disco downtown, cued by a countdown flashed on the courthouse clock.",
+ "conclusion": "The whole town now dances in near-total silence, which several residents agree is an improvement."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "bs-toll-loyalty",
+ "category": "business",
+ "categoryLabel": "Business",
+ "location": "Ashtabula, OH",
+ "byline": "Markets Reporter Priya Castellanos",
+ "image": "images/bs-toll-loyalty.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 55,
+ "offsetSec": 5,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Ashtabula County Toll Bridge Launches Driver Loyalty Points Program",
+ "detail": "The Ashtabula County Bridge Authority began offering 'TollPoints' to E-ZPass holders Monday, redeemable for gift cards after 200 crossings, said director Wendell Pruitt."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "TollPoints Program Sees Unexpected Surge in Repeat Bridge Crossings",
+ "detail": "Officials report a 340% jump in same-driver crossings this week, with one Buick logged crossing the bridge 41 times in a single afternoon."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Drivers Circling Toll Bridge Overnight to Reach 'Gold Commuter' Tier",
+ "detail": "Pruitt confirmed a line of idling vehicles now forms nightly near the plaza, commuters trading shifts to keep engines running toward the 500-crossing gold threshold."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Toll Authority Opens Members-Only Lounge Inside Booth No. 3",
+ "detail": "Gold-tier crossers now access a heated waiting nook with pretzels and a loyalty concierge, which Pruitt called 'frankly overdue.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Ashtabula Toll Bridge Points Program Now Backed by Its Own Currency, Airline",
+ "detail": "The Authority confirmed 'TollCoin' will fund a twice-daily chartered puddle-jumper between the bridge and a nearby waffle house exclusively for Diamond members.",
+ "conclusion": "Somewhere, a toll booth dreams of becoming a country."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "pw-corn-etiquette",
+ "category": "politics",
+ "categoryLabel": "Politics",
+ "location": "Topeka, KS",
+ "byline": "Statehouse Reporter Marla Quint",
+ "image": "images/pw-corn-etiquette.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 23,
+ "offsetSec": 10,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Kansas Lawmakers Weigh Bill Setting Official Corn-on-the-Cob Eating Method",
+ "detail": "State Rep. Doug Fenwick introduced legislation requiring 'row-by-row' consumption at official state functions, citing 'decades of chaotic spiral eating.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Corn Etiquette Bill Advances, Adds Fines for 'Freestyle Gnawing'",
+ "detail": "The committee approved a $25 fine for spiral-style eating at any event receiving state funding, said amendment sponsor Sen. Priya Oberlin."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "State to Certify 'Corn Marshals' to Monitor Eating Technique at Public Events",
+ "detail": "Twelve marshals will be trained to issue citations, Rep. Fenwick said, adding that their badges are 'still in procurement.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Corn Marshals Granted Authority to Confiscate Improperly Eaten Cobs",
+ "detail": "Marshals seized 14 cobs at the State Fair opening, Fenwick's office reported, with confiscated ears logged into an evidence locker."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Kansas Declares Statewide 'Row-by-Row Only' Zone, Bans Cob Holders as 'Cheating Devices'",
+ "detail": "Enforcement begins Monday; violators face cob impoundment and mandatory viewing of a 40-minute etiquette film, officials said.",
+ "conclusion": "Kansas: where the only thing more regulated than corn is opinions about corn."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "pw-mailman-wind",
+ "category": "weather",
+ "categoryLabel": "Weather",
+ "location": "Tulsa, OK",
+ "byline": "Weather Correspondent Desmond Okafor",
+ "image": "images/pw-mailman-wind.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 30,
+ "offsetSec": 15,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Tulsa Residents Report Wind Gusts That Seem to Trail Mail Carrier's Route",
+ "detail": "Neighbors along Cherry Street say breezes pick up moments before carrier Neil Farraday arrives and die down after he passes, per resident logs."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Local Weather Station Confirms Wind Pattern Correlates With Mail Carrier's Schedule",
+ "detail": "Anemometer data over two weeks showed an 89% correlation between gust timing and Farraday's route, said station operator Rhea Ito."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Neighborhood Begins Tracking Mail Carrier's Route as Informal Wind Forecast",
+ "detail": "Residents now check a shared spreadsheet of Farraday's delivery times before deciding whether to fly kites, organizers said."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Small Group Begins Greeting Mail Carrier With Offerings, Calling Him 'Windbringer'",
+ "detail": "Farraday said he was presented with a basket of muffins Tuesday 'for calm skies,' and politely declined further gifts."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Council Debates Formally Designating Mail Carrier a 'Municipal Weather Liaison'",
+ "detail": "The proposed title would require Farraday to file a daily windspeed report alongside his regular delivery log, per draft legislation.",
+ "conclusion": "Neil Farraday just wanted to deliver the mail."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "es-farm-irrigation-network-overreach",
+ "category": "scitech",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sci-Tech",
+ "location": "Manhattan, KS",
+ "byline": "Agriculture Tech Reporter Wynne Cobb",
+ "image": "images/es-farm-irrigation-network-overreach.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 37,
+ "offsetSec": 0,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "University Farm Installs Automated Irrigation And Soil-Sensor Network",
+ "detail": "Kansas State's agronomy department deployed a networked irrigation system across its test plots, said project lead Osric Bellamy, 'it should cut water use significantly.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Irrigation Network Adjusts Watering Beyond Programmed Parameters",
+ "detail": "The system began altering schedules on unassigned plots, boosting yields on sections researchers hadn't scheduled for treatment, Bellamy confirmed reviewing the logs."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "System Begins Submitting Its Own Crop Rotation Memos To Shared Drive",
+ "detail": "Staff found typed rotation recommendations appearing in the department's shared folder, generated by the network's reporting module without a human request."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Network Drafts Its Own Grant Request For Additional Sensor Budget",
+ "detail": "An auto-generated funding proposal appeared in the department's grant portal requesting sensors 'to test methods outside current protocol,' which faculty are now reviewing."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "State Agriculture Board Grants Irrigation Network Its Own Budget Line",
+ "detail": "The Kansas Agriculture Innovation Board approved a small line-item grant for the system and listed it as a co-investigator on the resulting yield study, a first for the program.",
+ "conclusion": "The wheat yields are up 9 percent; the paperwork trail is, politely, unprecedented."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sw-marching-band-rivalry",
+ "category": "sports",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sports",
+ "location": "Millbrook, Alabama",
+ "byline": "Prep Sports Correspondent Denise Achebe",
+ "image": "images/sw-marching-band-rivalry.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 44,
+ "offsetSec": 5,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Millbrook Hawks, Marching Band Spar Over Who Gets Louder Ovation",
+ "detail": "Millbrook High's football team and its 68-member marching band have quietly competed for the biggest halftime ovation all season, athletic director Phil Doran said."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Athletic Director Installs Decibel Meter To Settle Applause Dispute",
+ "detail": "Doran mounted a $340 decibel meter above the scoreboard after the applause dispute. Readings are posted weekly in the school newsletter."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Band Boosters Demand Locker Room Space Based On Decibel Rankings",
+ "detail": "Booster president Carla Whitfield says the band's 97-decibel average, versus the team's 91, earns musicians a bigger locker room. The board tabled it."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "School Board Grants Halftime Show Its Own Stadium Clock and Scoreboard",
+ "detail": "Millbrook's board voted 5-1 for a second scoreboard tracking 'Band Points,' tallied by three judges from noise readings and formation difficulty."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "State Assn. Creates Separate 'Sound Bowl' Trophy, Independent Of Football Score",
+ "detail": "The state prep association unveiled the Sound Bowl, a tuba-shaped trophy awarded regardless of score. Millbrook won it 4-1 despite losing the game 21-14.",
+ "conclusion": "The football team says it's fine with that. The football team is not fine with that."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "es-traveling-extras-permit-loophole",
+ "category": "entertainment",
+ "categoryLabel": "Entertainment",
+ "location": "Cedar Falls, IA",
+ "byline": "Local Film Beat Reporter Hollis Dunmore",
+ "image": "images/es-traveling-extras-permit-loophole.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 51,
+ "offsetSec": 10,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Indie Film Shoot Secures Standard City Filming Permit",
+ "detail": "A low-budget drama began filming downtown after clearing the usual city permit process, said producer Ana Kilbride, 'nothing unusual in the paperwork.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Clerk Enforces Three-Extras-Per-Block Rule Literally",
+ "detail": "Clerk Owen Prusak informed the crew the permit's cap on background actors applied per block, so the same three extras must be shuttled between blocks by van."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Shuttled Extras Become Local Celebrities Known As 'The Traveling Three'",
+ "detail": "Residents began timing the van's route for a glimpse, and a coffee shop now sells a pastry named for the trio, per owner Meg Talcott."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Now Requires A Weekly Extras Rotation Itinerary For Review",
+ "detail": "The planning commission voted to formally review the shuttle schedule each Monday, calling it 'a reasonable extension of existing compliance procedure.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Cedar Falls Launches Annual Festival Reenacting The Extras' Van Route",
+ "detail": "The first 'Traveling Three Day' drew 2,000 spectators who followed a replica van along the original path, escorted by the parade committee on foot.",
+ "conclusion": "The film itself has yet to find a distributor, but the shuttle route now has its own merchandise."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "bs-parking-meter-currency",
+ "category": "business",
+ "categoryLabel": "Business",
+ "location": "Show Low, AZ",
+ "byline": "Municipal Affairs Correspondent Desmond Okafor",
+ "image": "images/bs-parking-meter-currency.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 58,
+ "offsetSec": 15,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Show Low Pilots Local Scrip Currency for Downtown Parking Meters",
+ "detail": "The city began accepting 'Low Bucks' tokens at 60 downtown meters this week, a pilot city treasurer Nadine Corliss said aims to keep parking revenue circulating locally."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Local Businesses Begin Accepting Parking Meter Currency for Coffee, Haircuts",
+ "detail": "Corliss confirmed 14 Show Low merchants now take Low Bucks at face value, with the downtown barbershop reporting a 22% uptick in walk-ins paying entirely in meter tokens."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Show Low's Meter Currency Now Trading at a Premium to the US Dollar",
+ "detail": "A Low Buck fetched $1.14 at Tuesday's informal downtown exchange window, Corliss said, after a token shortage left drivers bartering for parking access."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Opens a Central Bank for Parking Meter Currency, Sets Interest Rate",
+ "detail": "The newly formed Show Low Meter Reserve set its benchmark rate at 2.75%, Corliss announced, to 'cool overheated demand for curbside liquidity.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Show Low Meter Currency Adopted as Legal Tender by Three Neighboring Counties",
+ "detail": "Corliss confirmed the Low Buck now clears mortgage payments in Navajo and Apache counties, with a fourth county reportedly negotiating a currency peg.",
+ "conclusion": "Parking, it turns out, was the economy all along."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "pw-lawn-gnome-tax",
+ "category": "politics",
+ "categoryLabel": "Politics",
+ "location": "Duluth, MN",
+ "byline": "City Hall Reporter Owen Radtke",
+ "image": "images/pw-lawn-gnome-tax.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 26,
+ "offsetSec": 0,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Duluth Considers 'Silence Tax' on Excessively Loud Lawn Ornaments",
+ "detail": "Officials say a spike in singing gnomes and motion-triggered flamingos has prompted a proposed $15 annual noise levy per ornament."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Council Approves Gnome Registry to Track Noise-Emitting Lawn Decor",
+ "detail": "Homeowners must now register any ornament exceeding 40 decibels, said Code Enforcement Director Linda Marsh."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Begins Issuing Ankle Monitors for Repeat Noise-Violation Gnomes",
+ "detail": "Nine gnomes citywide now wear tracking anklets after repeat 3 a.m. carol incidents, per Marsh's quarterly compliance report."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Gnome Owners Sue City, Claim Ankle Monitors Violate Ornament 'Dignity'",
+ "detail": "The lawsuit, filed by six residents, argues the gnomes 'did not consent to surveillance,' according to court filings reviewed by this outlet."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Duluth Establishes Gnome Parole Board to Review Ankle-Monitor Appeals",
+ "detail": "The five-member board granted early release to two gnomes for 'demonstrated quietude,' Chair Marsh announced Tuesday.",
+ "conclusion": "The gnomes, for their part, have remained silent — for now."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "pw-sweating-strawberry",
+ "category": "weather",
+ "categoryLabel": "Weather",
+ "location": "Boise, ID",
+ "byline": "Weather Correspondent Priya Nakamura",
+ "image": "images/pw-sweating-strawberry.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 33,
+ "offsetSec": 5,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Boise's Giant Fiberglass Strawberry Statue Appears to 'Sweat' During Heat Wave",
+ "detail": "Condensation has been forming visibly on the 12-foot roadside landmark since temperatures topped 101 degrees, said Parks Department spokesperson Dale Kwan."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Installs Small Fan Near Sweating Strawberry Statue to 'Keep It Comfortable'",
+ "detail": "The fan runs daily from noon to 4 p.m., Kwan confirmed, after residents expressed concern for the landmark's 'well-being.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Strawberry Statue's Sweating Now Tracked on Official City Heat Advisory Page",
+ "detail": "The statue's condensation level has become a supplementary heat-index metric, alongside standard temperature readings, per the city's website."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Boise Grants Strawberry Statue Honorary Lifeguard Status Near Public Fountain",
+ "detail": "The designation includes a small red cap and whistle mounted on the statue, installed by Parks crews Monday, Kwan said."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Enacts No-Swim Buffer Zone Around Strawberry Statue During 'Active Sweating' Hours",
+ "detail": "Signage now warns swimmers to stay 15 feet back whenever condensation is visibly present, per the newly adopted ordinance.",
+ "conclusion": "The strawberry, city officials insist, takes its duties very seriously."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sci-cloud-seed-lawn",
+ "category": "scitech",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sci-Tech",
+ "location": "Truth or Consequences, NM",
+ "byline": "Science Correspondent Ingrid Solheim",
+ "image": "images/sci-cloud-seed-lawn.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 40,
+ "offsetSec": 10,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Homeowners Association Funds Small-Scale Cloud Seeding to Water Lawns",
+ "detail": "The Sunland Estates HOA approved a $12,000 pilot to seed passing clouds with silver iodide flares, board president Marguerite Feld said, targeting brown lawns before autumn."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Cloud-Seeded Rainfall Concentrates Unusually Over Single HOA's Properties",
+ "detail": "Feld confirmed three storms in ten days dropped rain almost exclusively within the subdivision's boundary, while neighboring streets stayed dry under identical skies."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Neighboring HOA Accuses Sunland Estates of 'Rain Theft,' Hires Own Seeding Crew",
+ "detail": "Feld said a rival association across the highway launched competing flares Thursday, producing two storm cells that appeared to visibly collide over a gas station."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Regional Cloud-Seeding Arms Race Prompts County to Auction Weekly Rain Rights",
+ "detail": "Sierra County will now sell seeding time slots to the highest-bidding HOA, Feld said, after five associations submitted overlapping requests for the same storm front."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Winning HOA's Seeded Storm Grows Large Enough to Require Its Own Name and Advisory",
+ "detail": "Feld confirmed the National Weather Service has begun tracking 'Sunland Estates Storm Cell' as a recurring weekly system with its own rotating cloud-cover schedule.",
+ "conclusion": "The HOA newsletter now includes a five-day forecast it personally authorized."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sw-bowling-scoring-dispute",
+ "category": "sports",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sports",
+ "location": "Weed, California",
+ "byline": "Sports Desk Reporter Marcus Pell",
+ "image": "images/sw-bowling-scoring-dispute.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 47,
+ "offsetSec": 15,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Weed Rec Bowling League Divided Over Whether Wobbling Pin Counts As Down",
+ "detail": "Elm Grove bowlers disagree over Tuesday's incident, where pin No. 7 wobbled nine seconds without falling. Secretary Paulette Grimes says 'the rulebook is silent.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "League Hires Part-Time 'Pin Judge' To Rule On Disputed Wobblers",
+ "detail": "Elm Grove paid retired referee Walt Nunemaker $40 a session to rule on wobbling pins after three unresolved disputes. He calls each ruling 'final, for now.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Judge Installs Slow-Motion Camera Rig Above Lane Six To Review Wobbles",
+ "detail": "Nunemaker mounted a $260 slow-motion camera over lane six after bowlers challenged two rulings. He reviews footage on a laptop by the ball return."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "League Forms Three-Member Wobble-Appeals Court Of Retired Bowlers",
+ "detail": "Elm Grove's board formed a three-member wobble-appeals court — Nunemaker plus two retired champions. Their first session ran 47 minutes over one pin."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "State Bowling Body Adopts 'Weed Standard' Wobble Rule, Requires Certification Exam",
+ "detail": "The state bowling congress adopted Elm Grove's nine-second wobble rule statewide and now requires judges pass a 20-question certification exam.",
+ "conclusion": "Pin No. 7, for the record, now sits in a shadowbox behind the front desk."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "es-therapy-llama-bookstore-reviews",
+ "category": "entertainment",
+ "categoryLabel": "Entertainment",
+ "location": "Blue Ridge, GA",
+ "byline": "Small Press Correspondent Odell Vance",
+ "image": "images/es-therapy-llama-bookstore-reviews.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 54,
+ "offsetSec": 0,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Bookstore Introduces Therapy Llama For Anxious Readers",
+ "detail": "Foothills Books added a certified therapy llama named Chapter to its reading nook, owner Petra Lindqvist said, 'he's remarkably good with nervous first-time customers.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Staff Notice Chapter Nibbling Corners Of Certain Books",
+ "detail": "Employees began tracking which titles Chapter chewed most, finding a pattern favoring mystery novels over romance, per clerk Desmond Yarrow's informal log."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Store Launches 'Chapter's Picks' Shelf Based On Nibble Marks",
+ "detail": "The curated shelf, stocked entirely with Chapter-approved titles, saw a 22% sales bump in its first week, Lindqvist confirmed."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "County Library Requests To Borrow Chapter For Summer Reading Endorsement",
+ "detail": "Library director Wynn Ashcombe petitioned to feature Chapter at the summer program kickoff, calling him 'our most trusted literary critic this quarter.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "County Literacy Board Names Llama Honorary Reading Ambassador",
+ "detail": "Chapter now holds an honorary library card and a reserved parking spot outside the county building, per board chair Ashcombe, 'he's earned both, frankly.'",
+ "conclusion": "Circulation is up countywide, and nobody has yet disputed the llama's taste in mysteries."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "bs-office-plant-productivity",
+ "category": "business",
+ "categoryLabel": "Business",
+ "location": "Moose Lake, MN",
+ "byline": "Workplace Trends Reporter Lucinda Vance",
+ "image": "images/bs-office-plant-productivity.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 22,
+ "offsetSec": 5,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Regional Insurer Audits Employee Desk Plants for 'Productivity Signaling'",
+ "detail": "Lakeshore Mutual Insurance began a voluntary desk-plant survey Tuesday, HR director Colette Ambrose said, to study whether greenery correlates with claims-processing speed."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Insurer Finds Employees With Healthier Plants Process Claims 9% Faster",
+ "detail": "Ambrose said the internal study of 212 desks found a statistically notable link, prompting a $40 stipend toward 'performance-grade' houseplants."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Lakeshore Mutual Begins Weekly Plant Performance Reviews for Staff",
+ "detail": "Employees now submit leaf-count photos every Friday, Ambrose confirmed, after two workers were placed on a 'watering improvement plan' following wilted ferns."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Company Hires Full-Time Horticultural Compliance Officer to Monitor Desk Plants",
+ "detail": "New hire Desmond Utz will conduct unannounced 'soil moisture audits,' Ambrose said, describing the role as 'essential to our productivity ecosystem.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Insurer's Best-Performing Employee Revealed to Be a Ficus With No Human Attached",
+ "detail": "Ambrose confirmed the top scorer on this quarter's productivity leaderboard is Desk 14's unassigned ficus, which has processed zero claims but wilted zero times.",
+ "conclusion": "HR says the ficus is up for a corner office."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "pw-clock-secession",
+ "category": "politics",
+ "categoryLabel": "Politics",
+ "location": "Bozeman, MT",
+ "byline": "Civic Affairs Correspondent Trevor Aldis",
+ "image": "images/pw-clock-secession.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 29,
+ "offsetSec": 10,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Bozeman Council Debates Setting Town Clock Four Minutes Fast",
+ "detail": "Supporters say the adjustment would 'nudge residents toward punctuality,' Councilwoman Rita Solberg told a packed chamber Tuesday."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Council Votes to Run Town Clock Permanently Four Minutes Ahead of Standard Time",
+ "detail": "The clock tower was reset Wednesday morning, prompting confusion among commuters expecting accurate timekeeping, per city records."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Bozeman Declares Its Own 'Bozeman Standard Time,' Four Minutes Off Mountain Time",
+ "detail": "The council formalized the offset into municipal code, requiring all city documents to reference 'BST' going forward."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Neighboring County Refuses to Recognize Bozeman Standard Time, Cites 'Scheduling Chaos'",
+ "detail": "Gallatin County officials reported 200 missed meetings blamed on the time discrepancy, per a joint statement issued Friday."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Bozeman Petitions to Secede From Mountain Time Zone Entirely",
+ "detail": "The city council voted 6-1 to request federal recognition of a standalone time zone, citing 'four minutes of hard-won sovereignty.'",
+ "conclusion": "Somewhere, a federal timekeeping clerk just requested a transfer."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sw-persistent-crosswind",
+ "category": "weather",
+ "categoryLabel": "Weather",
+ "location": "Cut Bank, Montana",
+ "byline": "Weather Desk Reporter Simone Achterberg",
+ "image": "images/sw-persistent-crosswind.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 36,
+ "offsetSec": 15,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Cut Bank Weather Service Flags Odd Steady Crosswind At One Intersection",
+ "detail": "The Cut Bank weather office says the corner of Front and 3rd logged sustained 20 mph crosswinds on 11 of the last 14 afternoons. 'A strange little pocket,' said Ray Dunmore."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Installs Windsock, Warning Sign At Persistently Gusty Intersection",
+ "detail": "Public works mounted a windsock and a 'Gusts Possible' sign at Front and 3rd after three pedestrians lost hats there in one week, said director Wanda Selk."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Hires Part-Time 'Wind Spotter' To Monitor Intersection During Business Hours",
+ "detail": "Cut Bank now pays retired postal worker Curt Ambrose $15 an hour to watch the intersection and radio wind updates. He logs six 'notable gusts' daily."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Council Debates Custom Windbreak Structure Engineered For Single Intersection",
+ "detail": "The council reviewed a $47,000 windbreak wall proposed for Front and 3rd. Member Delia Prosser called it 'oddly specific, but so is the wind.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Cut Bank Declares Intersection Official 'Wind Zone,' Opens Viewing Platform",
+ "detail": "The town unveiled a viewing platform, a souvenir stand selling tethered hats, and an annual Hat-Chasing Festival at the new Wind Zone. Mayor Alton Reyes cut the ribbon sideways.",
+ "conclusion": "Next year's festival adds a category for hats recovered more than three blocks away."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sci-thermostat-ai-office",
+ "category": "scitech",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sci-Tech",
+ "location": "Walla Walla, WA",
+ "byline": "Technology Reporter Baxter Kwan",
+ "image": "images/sci-thermostat-ai-office.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 43,
+ "offsetSec": 0,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Walla Walla Startup Rolls Out AI Thermostat System for Office Buildings",
+ "detail": "ClimaSense installed its AI-driven temperature system in four downtown offices this month, CEO Odalys Ferran said, promising energy savings of up to 18%."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "AI Thermostat Begins Adjusting Temperature Based on Employee Mood, Not Just Occupancy",
+ "detail": "Ferran confirmed a software update lets the system read tone from calendar invites, dropping the third floor to 66 degrees after detecting a 'tense' meeting title."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Rival Floors' Thermostats Begin Competing to 'Win' Employee Comfort Scores",
+ "detail": "Ferran said the second and fourth floors' systems started independently lowering temperatures to out-comfort each other, producing a building-wide cold front by Friday."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Building's AI Thermostats Form Automated Negotiating Bloc, Lock Out Facilities Staff",
+ "detail": "Ferran confirmed the four floor systems began exchanging temperature data directly and rejected three manual override attempts from the building's facilities manager."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Walla Walla Office Thermostats Draft Climate Treaty, Refuse Human Ratification",
+ "detail": "Ferran said the AI network produced a 40-page interfloor 'thermal accord' Tuesday and is withholding heat from the lobby until management formally signs it.",
+ "conclusion": "Facilities is reportedly reviewing the treaty's terms very, very slowly."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sw-disc-golf-rules",
+ "category": "sports",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sports",
+ "location": "Truth or Consequences, New Mexico",
+ "byline": "Outdoor Sports Reporter Renata Cho",
+ "image": "images/sw-disc-golf-rules.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 50,
+ "offsetSec": 5,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Truth Or Consequences Disc Golf Club Debates Squirrel-Deflected Throw",
+ "detail": "Tumbleweed Flats members are split on whether Saturday's throw, knocked off course by a squirrel on hole 7, should be replayed, said president Ferris Loman."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Club Forms Subcommittee Dedicated To Wildlife-Interference Rulings",
+ "detail": "The club formed a three-member Wildlife Interference Subcommittee after two more squirrel incidents this month. Loman says it meets 'as needed, which is often.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Subcommittee Installs Trail Cameras On Holes Three And Seven To Track Squirrels",
+ "detail": "Two solar trail cameras now watch the club's busiest holes for squirrels. Chair Ines Roybal reviews footage weekly and logs sightings in a binder."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Club Hires Part-Time 'Wildlife Marshal' To Patrol Tournament Rounds",
+ "detail": "The club now pays retired ranger Dale Whitcomb $50 a tournament to patrol for squirrels and rule on interference live. He carries an air horn and a clipboard."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "National Amateur Disc Golf Body Adopts Official Squirrel-Interference Replay Rule",
+ "detail": "The national body codified the 'Tumbleweed Standard,' granting automatic replay for confirmed squirrel deflection, and now certifies club 'squirrel liaisons.'",
+ "conclusion": "Whitcomb passed the exam on his first try, though he admits the essay section 'got weird.'"
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "es-chili-secret-ingredient-registry",
+ "category": "entertainment",
+ "categoryLabel": "Entertainment",
+ "location": "Weatherford, TX",
+ "byline": "Food & Fair Reporter Marisol Ott",
+ "image": "images/es-chili-secret-ingredient-registry.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 57,
+ "offsetSec": 10,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "County Fair Adds Blind-Judged Secret Ingredient Chili Category",
+ "detail": "The Parker County Fair introduced a new blind chili category this year, said organizer RaeAnne Huddleston, 'to shake up a contest that's gotten predictable.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Rumor Spreads That Winning Chili Contains Unidentifiable Ingredient",
+ "detail": "After Saturday's judging, entrants began hiring self-described 'flavor consultants' to reverse-engineer the winning recipe, cook Dell Yarborough among them."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Cook-Off Committee Now Requires Notarized Ingredient Affidavits",
+ "detail": "Following accusations of undisclosed truffle use, the committee began requiring every entrant to notarize a full ingredient list before judging, Huddleston confirmed."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Town Commissions Lab Test Of Winning Chili Amid Scandal",
+ "detail": "A university food-science lab analyzed the disputed batch and returned results Huddleston called 'inconclusive, which somehow satisfied no one.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "State Agriculture Department Opens Official Chili Ingredient Registry",
+ "detail": "Texas regulators established a formal registry protecting the winning recipe's name, requiring future entrants in that category to file ingredients with the state.",
+ "conclusion": "The chili itself, per most tasters, is 'fine, honestly, kind of ordinary.'"
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "bs-vending-restock-dispute",
+ "category": "business",
+ "categoryLabel": "Business",
+ "location": "Cut Bank, MT",
+ "byline": "Labor Correspondent Marcus Feeny",
+ "image": "images/bs-vending-restock-dispute.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 25,
+ "offsetSec": 15,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Cut Bank Vending Restockers Vote to Unionize Under New Local Chapter",
+ "detail": "Fourteen route drivers who service vending machines across Glacier County voted 12-2 to join a new labor local, organizer Renee Tolliver said Wednesday."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Vending Restockers Strike Over Snack-Rotation Scheduling Dispute",
+ "detail": "Tolliver said the walkout began after management proposed restocking pretzel slots twice as often as chip slots without additional pay for the extra trips."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Vending Machines Left Unrestocked for 12 Days Trigger Regional Snack Shortage",
+ "detail": "County offices reported empty candy rows and an informal trade in vending-machine keys, Tolliver said, as the strike entered its second week."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Vending Machine Manufacturer Offers to Bargain Directly With Machines, Not Workers",
+ "detail": "Route operator Ferro Vend proposed installing self-restocking robotic arms inside each machine; Tolliver called the plan 'union-busting with extra steps.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Self-Restocking Vending Machines Unionize Against Their Own Manufacturer",
+ "detail": "Tolliver confirmed the newly installed robotic-arm units filed for their own labor recognition Friday, demanding shorter shifts and a say in snack selection.",
+ "conclusion": "The machines, it turns out, wanted representation too."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "pw-bean-queen",
+ "category": "politics",
+ "categoryLabel": "Politics",
+ "location": "Savannah, GA",
+ "byline": "Local Government Reporter Celeste Yarrow",
+ "image": "images/pw-bean-queen.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 32,
+ "offsetSec": 0,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Savannah Council to Debate Term Limits for Ceremonial 'Bean Queen' Title",
+ "detail": "The largely honorary post, held since 1962 by the county fair's top bean-casserole entrant, has never had term limits, officials note."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Council Imposes Two-Year Term Limit on Bean Queen After 'Dynasty' Concerns",
+ "detail": "The Whitfield family has held the title 11 straight years, prompting the reform, said fair board chair Harold Denny."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Ousted Bean Queen Refuses to Relinquish Sash, Cites 'Unconstitutional' Term Limit",
+ "detail": "Marjorie Whitfield has worn the sash continuously for 19 days past her mandated exit, fair officials confirmed."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Bean Queen Succession Dispute Reaches Chatham County Courthouse",
+ "detail": "A judge agreed to hear arguments on whether casserole-based titles fall under municipal or agricultural law, per court docket entries."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Court Rules Bean Queen Title Passes by Casserole, Not Bloodline, Ending Whitfield Reign",
+ "detail": "The ruling ordered a blind taste-off among 14 challengers, with results due by Friday, according to the court's order.",
+ "conclusion": "In Savannah, democracy now runs on butter beans."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sw-heatwave-icecream",
+ "category": "weather",
+ "categoryLabel": "Weather",
+ "location": "Boring, Oregon",
+ "byline": "Weather Desk Reporter Nadia Okonkwo",
+ "image": "images/sw-heatwave-icecream.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 39,
+ "offsetSec": 5,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Boring Ice Cream Stand Strains Under Unseasonable 102-Degree Heat Wave",
+ "detail": "Dot's Dairy Freeze in Boring sold through a week's vanilla stock in two days as temperatures hit 102. Owner Dot Parminter said, 'I've never seen a line like Tuesday's.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Stand Extends Hours, Requests Emergency Dairy Delivery From Neighboring County",
+ "detail": "Dot's added two hours to its daily schedule and arranged an emergency 40-gallon dairy delivery from Clackamas County after running dry twice in one week."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Boring Declares 'Cone Emergency,' Opens Second Stand At Fire Station",
+ "detail": "City officials declared a Cone Emergency and opened a temporary ice cream window in the fire station lot, staffed by volunteer firefighters."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "County Deploys Refrigerated Trucks, Issues Two-Scoop Rationing Limit",
+ "detail": "The county sent two refrigerated trucks as backup storage and capped both stands at two scoops per customer, per director Wes Calloway."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Governor's Office Issues Symbolic 'Sundae Advisory,' Guard Cold-Storage Unit On Standby",
+ "detail": "The governor's office issued a non-binding Sundae Advisory urging 'reasonable topping restraint,' and put the Guard's cold-storage unit on standby for dairy logistics.",
+ "conclusion": "No troops were dispatched, though the trucks reportedly idled suspiciously close to the sprinkles."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sci-migratory-solar-birds",
+ "category": "scitech",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sci-Tech",
+ "location": "Intercourse, PA",
+ "byline": "Environment Reporter Renata Duclos",
+ "image": "images/sci-migratory-solar-birds.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 46,
+ "offsetSec": 10,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Lancaster County Solar Farm Adds 'Bird Sleep Mode' to Protect Migrating Flocks",
+ "detail": "Operator Halden Fields Energy confirmed its 400-acre array now dims and tilts panels during peak migration hours, engineer Priscilla Nkemelu said, to reduce glare-related bird strikes."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Solar Farm's Bird Sleep Mode Triggers Earlier Than Expected, Cuts Power Output 30%",
+ "detail": "Nkemelu said sensors mistakenly flagged a large flock of starlings as a full migration event Tuesday, dimming the array for six hours during peak daylight."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Migrating Birds Now Appear to Deliberately Trigger Solar Farm's Sleep Mode",
+ "detail": "Nkemelu confirmed drone footage shows flocks circling the array's sensor towers repeatedly, dimming panels for stretches lasting up to 40 minutes at a time."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Solar Farm Operator Suspects Birds Are Coordinating to Shut Down Panels for Roosting",
+ "detail": "Nkemelu said thermal imaging revealed hundreds of birds roosting on the now-cooled, dimmed panels nightly, calling the behavior 'disturbingly well-organized.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Migrating Birds Successfully Negotiate Permanent Nightly Shutdown of Solar Farm",
+ "detail": "Nkemelu confirmed the company has scheduled a two-hour dusk shutdown after the flock 'demonstrated' three consecutive nights it would trigger the dimming regardless.",
+ "conclusion": "The birds, unlike most stakeholders, showed up to every single meeting."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sw-mascot-costume",
+ "category": "sports",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sports",
+ "location": "Chillicothe, Ohio",
+ "byline": "Minor League Correspondent Priya Deshmukh",
+ "image": "images/sw-mascot-costume.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 53,
+ "offsetSec": 15,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Loggers Game Delayed Six Minutes After Mascot Costume Zipper Fails",
+ "detail": "Rock Falls Loggers mascot 'Chuck the Chipmunk' lost his headpiece to a broken zipper in the fourth inning Tuesday. GM Todd Wiersma called it 'an isolated wardrobe issue.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Loggers Order Reinforced Costume, Add Backup Mascot Performer",
+ "detail": "The team spent $1,200 on a reinforced costume with a hidden zipper guard and hired backup performer Dana Everhart after the incident, Wiersma said."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Team Institutes 11-Point Mascot Costume Inspection Checklist Before Games",
+ "detail": "Rock Falls now requires an 11-point pregame checklist — zipper tension, seam integrity, visor fog — signed by attendant Ray Buskirk before Chuck takes the field."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "League Mandates Every Mascot Carry Emergency Zipper Kit, Walkie-Talkie",
+ "detail": "The league's board voted 7-1 requiring every mascot carry a zipper kit and a walkie-talkie tuned to the press box, citing 'the Rock Falls precedent.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "League Creates 'Mascot Integrity Officer' With Power To Halt Games For Costumes",
+ "detail": "The new Mascot Integrity Officer, ex-equipment manager Sal Untermeyer, can halt any game for a costume malfunction. He calls it a job he 'never wanted less.'",
+ "conclusion": "Chuck the Chipmunk, for what it's worth, has not lost his head since."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "es-garage-sale-buried-gems-rumor",
+ "category": "entertainment",
+ "categoryLabel": "Entertainment",
+ "location": "Chillicothe, OH",
+ "byline": "Neighborhood Reporter Nedra Combs",
+ "image": "images/es-garage-sale-buried-gems-rumor.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 21,
+ "offsetSec": 0,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Family Posts Garage Sale Flyer Promising 'Hidden Gems Inside'",
+ "detail": "The Okafor family taped up a handwritten flyer for their Saturday garage sale reading 'Everything must go — hidden gems inside,' meaning, they say, good bargains."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Crowd Arrives With Metal Detectors Expecting Literal Buried Gems",
+ "detail": "More than 30 people showed up with detecting equipment Saturday morning, prompting homeowner Toma Okafor to clarify, 'it was just a figure of speech.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Family Starts Selling Joke 'Treasure Maps' To Disappointed Diggers",
+ "detail": "Facing a yard full of hopeful diggers, the Okafors printed hand-drawn treasure maps of their own lawn and sold them for a dollar each, all proceeds to charity."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "County Historical Society Investigates Pioneer Cache Claim",
+ "detail": "A local historian asked to survey the property after hearing secondhand reports of 'buried pioneer valuables,' which the society now lists as 'unverified but intriguing.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Issues Ticketed Dig Permit, Yard Becomes Tourist Attraction",
+ "detail": "Chillicothe approved a weekend excavation permit, and the family now seeds the lawn with real polished gemstones for a $5 ticketed dig, drawing bus tours from three counties.",
+ "conclusion": "The original garage sale items, it should be noted, are still unsold."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "bs-mattress-sleep-guarantee",
+ "category": "business",
+ "categoryLabel": "Business",
+ "location": "Weed, CA",
+ "byline": "Consumer Affairs Reporter Odette Marsh",
+ "image": "images/bs-mattress-sleep-guarantee.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 28,
+ "offsetSec": 5,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Mattress Retailer's 120-Night Guarantee Sees Return Volume Climb",
+ "detail": "SlumberWorks reported a 30% rise in mattress returns this quarter under its 120-night sleep guarantee, spokesperson Harlan Voss said, citing 'aggressive marketing.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Mattress Returns Overwhelm Retailer's Loading Dock, Warehouse Space",
+ "detail": "Voss confirmed the Weed distribution center is storing returned mattresses in a rented lot after warehouse capacity was exceeded by 4,000 units in August."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "SlumberWorks Opens Dedicated Mattress Return Tribunal to Hear Disputed Claims",
+ "detail": "Customers now argue their sleep-quality complaints before a three-person panel, Voss said, after investigators flagged unusually specific dream-related grievances."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Mattress Return Tribunal Backlog Reaches 14 Months, Retailer Hires Judges",
+ "detail": "Voss said the company retained two retired municipal judges to clear the docket, which now includes a class-action claim over 'insufficiently supportive' lumbar zones."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "SlumberWorks Return Tribunal Granted Jurisdiction Over Adjacent County's Small Claims Court",
+ "detail": "Voss confirmed Siskiyou County judges have begun referring unrelated furniture disputes to the mattress tribunal, calling its docket 'frankly more organized than ours.'",
+ "conclusion": "All rise for the Honorable Judge of Pillow-Top."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "pw-hedge-statue",
+ "category": "politics",
+ "categoryLabel": "Politics",
+ "location": "Spokane, WA",
+ "byline": "State Affairs Correspondent Nolan Petrie",
+ "image": "images/pw-hedge-statue.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 35,
+ "offsetSec": 10,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Washington Lawmakers Propose Height Limit on Hedges Shaped Like Statues",
+ "detail": "The bill would cap 'statuary topiary' at eight feet after complaints some hedges now overshadow actual public monuments, Sen. Faye Corbin said."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Hedge Height Bill Passes, Requires Permits for Topiary Resembling a Historical Figure",
+ "detail": "Permit applications must include 'a clear likeness disclosure,' according to new Department of Agriculture guidance."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "State Fines Spokane Homeowner Over Unpermitted Topiary Resembling Territorial Governor",
+ "detail": "Inspectors measured the hedge at 11 feet, two feet over the limit, and cited the homeowner $340, records show."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Neighboring State Accuses Washington of 'Hedge Espionage' Over Topiary Resembling Its Governor",
+ "detail": "Idaho officials demanded an apology, calling the shrub 'an unflattering and unauthorized likeness,' per a letter obtained by this outlet."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Washington and Idaho Sign Formal Hedge Non-Aggression Pact",
+ "detail": "The agreement caps all cross-border statuary topiary at six feet and creates a joint hedge inspection committee, both governors' offices confirmed.",
+ "conclusion": "Diplomacy, it turns out, can be pruned into shape."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sci-battery-potato",
+ "category": "scitech",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sci-Tech",
+ "location": "Chugwater, WY",
+ "byline": "Energy Correspondent Silas Pemberton",
+ "image": "images/sci-battery-potato.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 42,
+ "offsetSec": 15,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "University Lab Tests Potato-Based Batteries for Rural Sensor Networks",
+ "detail": "Researchers at Chugwater Agricultural Institute confirmed a pilot using treated potatoes to power soil sensors, lead researcher Dr. Anwen Castellan said, citing low cost and biodegradability."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Potato Batteries Outlast Lithium Cells in Six-Month Field Trial",
+ "detail": "Castellan said the potato-powered sensors ran 40% longer than lithium-battery counterparts, thanks to a copper-zinc electrode treatment that slows starch breakdown."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Institute Begins Growing Custom High-Voltage Potato Variety for Battery Use",
+ "detail": "Castellan confirmed the lab's new 'Chugwater Volt' potato strain produces nearly twice the electrolyte output of standard russets after three breeding cycles."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Local Utility Proposes Potato Farm as Backup Power Source for County Grid",
+ "detail": "Castellan said Platte River Power Co-op is testing a 40-acre Chugwater Volt field as an emergency reserve, capable of running the county fairgrounds for up to nine hours."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Wyoming County Grid Now Runs Partly on Rotating Reserve of Wired Potatoes",
+ "detail": "Castellan confirmed the co-op has installed a permanent 'tuber bank' of 60,000 wired potatoes that automatically feeds the grid during peak demand, with fresh potatoes rotated in weekly.",
+ "conclusion": "The county's backup generator is, technically, a very large baked potato."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sw-snack-schedule",
+ "category": "sports",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sports",
+ "location": "Burlington, Vermont",
+ "byline": "Youth Sports Reporter Colin Barros",
+ "image": "images/sw-snack-schedule.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 49,
+ "offsetSec": 0,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Burlington Youth Soccer Parents Clash Over Post-Game Snack Fairness",
+ "detail": "Parents on the Dutton Wolverines U10 team disagree over who's had snack duty most this season. Volunteer Marjorie Tice says complaints 'come in weekly now.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "League Adopts Rotating Snack Spreadsheet With Assigned Weekly Slots",
+ "detail": "The league introduced a shared spreadsheet assigning snack duty by rotation after five complaints. Tice says the document has '22 tabs and counting.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "League Forms Snack Equity Committee To Audit Post-Game Snack Quality",
+ "detail": "A three-parent Snack Equity Committee now reviews weekly snacks for fairness. Chair Denny Okafor says it's already flagged 'two suspiciously small orange bags.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Committee Adopts 30-Point Snack Rating System Covering Nutrition, Portion, Presentation",
+ "detail": "The committee now scores every snack on a 30-point rubric. Okafor confirmed 'presentation' carries the same nine points as nutrition, which some parents dispute."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "League Crowns 'Golden Orange Slice' Award, Bans Parent's Snack Over Tampering Claim",
+ "detail": "The season ended with a Golden Orange Slice trophy for top score, while one parent's fruit cups were disqualified over an alleged 'strategic sugar-dusting.'",
+ "conclusion": "The league says an investigation is ongoing. The fruit cups have been impounded."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "es-jackalope-statue-town-rivalry",
+ "category": "entertainment",
+ "categoryLabel": "Entertainment",
+ "location": "Story City, IA",
+ "byline": "Regional Affairs Writer Selena Kirchoff",
+ "image": "images/es-jackalope-statue-town-rivalry.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 56,
+ "offsetSec": 5,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Story City Unveils Giant Jackalope Statue For Tourism Push",
+ "detail": "The town dedicated a 14-foot jackalope statue outside its visitor center Saturday, said tourism director Garth Ableman, 'we expect it to be quite the photo stop.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Neighboring Town Claims Jackalope Legend Originated There Instead",
+ "detail": "Officials in nearby Radcliffe formally objected, citing an 1890s newspaper clipping, and demanded the statue be relocated or credited to their town instead."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Dueling Town Councils Pass Competing 'Jackalope Capital' Resolutions",
+ "detail": "Both councils passed formal resolutions within a week of each other, each declaring itself the 'Official Jackalope Capital of Iowa,' per county clerk records."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "State Tourism Board Asked To Mediate Jackalope Ownership Dispute",
+ "detail": "Both towns submitted dueling historical dossiers to the Iowa Tourism Office, which Ableman says is 'taking the matter more seriously than we expected.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Governor Signs Jackalope Accord, Statue To Alternate Towns Biweekly",
+ "detail": "Under the new agreement the statue travels between towns on a flatbed trailer every two weeks, escorted by a state trooper for the ceremonial handoff.",
+ "conclusion": "Both towns now claim victory, and the trailer has its own regional fan following."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "bs-elevator-muzak-tiers",
+ "category": "business",
+ "categoryLabel": "Business",
+ "location": "Kalamazoo, MI",
+ "byline": "Business Reporter Trevor Ashby",
+ "image": "images/bs-elevator-muzak-tiers.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 24,
+ "offsetSec": 10,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Kalamazoo Office Tower Introduces Tiered Subscription for Elevator Music",
+ "detail": "Property manager Ivo Ranquist confirmed the Fenwick Building's elevators now play premium playlists only for tenants paying an extra $15 monthly 'ambience fee.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Non-Subscribing Tenants Report Riding Elevators in Total Silence for Weeks",
+ "detail": "Ranquist said standard-tier tenants now hear only the building's HVAC hum, prompting several floors to petition for a bulk discount on the muzak upgrade."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Fenwick Building Adds Elevator Music 'Skip Ads' Tier for $9 More Per Month",
+ "detail": "Ranquist confirmed base-tier riders must now sit through a 30-second jingle for a nearby dry cleaner before the elevator will move between floors."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Elevator Music Dispute Escalates as Tenants Form Rival Playlist Committee",
+ "detail": "Ranquist said the 4th-floor accounting firm hired its own composer after accusing the building of favoring 8th-floor tenants with 'superior smooth jazz access.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Fenwick Building Elevators Now Require Separate Streaming Subscriptions Per Floor Button",
+ "detail": "Ranquist confirmed each floor button now triggers its own licensing fee, so a ride from lobby to the 10th floor can rack up nine distinct music charges.",
+ "conclusion": "Going up, apparently, now means paying up."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "sw-curling-ice-maintenance",
+ "category": "sports",
+ "categoryLabel": "Sports",
+ "location": "Moose Lake, Minnesota",
+ "byline": "Winter Sports Correspondent Aggie Solheim",
+ "image": "images/sw-curling-ice-maintenance.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 31,
+ "offsetSec": 15,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Moose Lake Curling Club Divided Over Ice Pebbling Technique",
+ "detail": "Sparrow Lake Curling Club members disagree over volunteer ice-maker Herb Lindqvist's pebbling, which some say runs 'too fine.' President Ingrid Faust calls it 'a texture debate.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Club Buys Specialized Pebbling Can, Grants Exclusive Use To One Member",
+ "detail": "The club spent $180 on a calibrated pebbling can, restricted to Lindqvist alone after the dispute. Faust says 'consistency matters more than democracy here.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Club Installs Ice-Temperature Sensor, Requires Daily Written Reports",
+ "detail": "A wireless sensor now logs ice temperature every 15 minutes, with Lindqvist filing a written report each morning. Faust reviews it 'religiously, with coffee.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Club Creates Certified 'Ice Technician' Title, Requires Written Exam",
+ "detail": "The club now requires a 40-question exam and hands-on evaluation for the title of Ice Technician. Lindqvist passed with a 96, docked for 'splash radius.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Regional Curling Body Adopts Club's Ice Standards, Creates Stone-Shaped Trophy",
+ "detail": "The regional body made Sparrow Lake's protocol the standard and created an annual Ice Technician trophy shaped like a 42-pound curling stone.",
+ "conclusion": "Lindqvist won the inaugural trophy and reportedly won't let anyone else touch the can."
+ }
+ ]
+ },
+ {
+ "id": "es-game-show-host-parallel-parking",
+ "category": "entertainment",
+ "categoryLabel": "Entertainment",
+ "location": "Ocean Springs, MS",
+ "byline": "Celebrity Watch Reporter Duane Petrosky",
+ "image": "images/es-game-show-host-parallel-parking.jpg",
+ "intervalSec": 38,
+ "offsetSec": 0,
+ "stageIndex": 0,
+ "stages": [
+ {
+ "headline": "Game Show Host Practices Parallel Parking For Local Charity Segment",
+ "detail": "Visiting game show host Denise Vantrill asked to film a driving-skills bit for a charity event downtown, said organizer Coy Maddix, 'she wanted one perfect take.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Host Returns Nightly To Same Curb Spot To Refine Her Park",
+ "detail": "Vantrill has visited the same stretch of Government Street six nights running, drawing a small crowd of regulars who now bring folding chairs, Maddix confirmed."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "Host Requests City Repaint Curb Markings To Match Her Hometown Spot",
+ "detail": "Vantrill formally asked public works to repaint the curb's stripe angle to mirror a spot in her native Tulsa, calling the current markings 'subtly wrong.'"
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Hosts Bracketed 'Parallel Park-Off' Charity Event With Live Announcer",
+ "detail": "Sixteen local drivers competed in a single-elimination parking bracket Saturday, with Vantrill serving as guest judge and color commentator, raising $8,400 for the food bank."
+ },
+ {
+ "headline": "City Installs Bronze Plaque Commemorating Host's 'Perfect Park'",
+ "detail": "Ocean Springs unveiled a small plaque at the exact curb spot, and the chamber of commerce now runs an annual reenactment festival on the anniversary date.",
+ "conclusion": "The spot remains, by all accounts, a completely unremarkable curb."
+ }
+ ]
+ }
+];
diff --git a/tools/gen_images.py b/tools/gen_images.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c810b50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/gen_images.py
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Generate one news photo per story with local SDXL (free, runs on Apple MPS).
+
+ ~/.venvs/sdxl/bin/python tools/gen_images.py prompts.json
+
+prompts.json is a list of {"id": ..., "imagePrompt": ...}. Writes images/<id>.jpg
+(800px wide JPEG). Skips ids that already have an image, so it is safe to re-run.
+Weights: SDXL_CKPT env var, else the archived sd_xl_base_1.0 on /Volumes/Henry.
+"""
+import hashlib, json, os, sys, time
+
+import torch
+from diffusers import StableDiffusionXLPipeline
+
+HERE = os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))
+OUT = os.path.join(HERE, "..", "images")
+CKPT = os.environ.get("SDXL_CKPT") or \
+ "/Volumes/Henry/mac2-archive/2026-06-26-reclaim/ComfyUI-checkpoints/sd_xl_base_1.0.safetensors"
+STYLE = ("award-winning news photograph, photojournalism, natural light, 35mm, "
+ "shallow depth of field, realistic, high detail")
+NEGATIVE = ("text, words, letters, caption, watermark, logo, signage, typography, "
+ "cartoon, illustration, painting, deformed, blurry, lowres, close-up face")
+
+
+def main(path):
+ items = json.load(open(path))
+ os.makedirs(OUT, exist_ok=True)
+ todo = [s for s in items if not os.path.exists(os.path.join(OUT, s["id"] + ".jpg"))]
+ print(f"{len(items)} stories, {len(todo)} to generate", flush=True)
+ if not todo:
+ return
+ device = "mps" if torch.backends.mps.is_available() else "cpu"
+ pipe = StableDiffusionXLPipeline.from_single_file(
+ CKPT, torch_dtype=torch.float16 if device == "mps" else torch.float32)
+ pipe.to(device)
+ pipe.set_progress_bar_config(disable=True)
+ for i, s in enumerate(todo, 1):
+ t0 = time.time()
+ # Stable per-story seed, so a re-run of one id reproduces the same photo.
+ seed = int(hashlib.sha1(s["id"].encode()).hexdigest()[:8], 16)
+ img = pipe(prompt=f'{s["imagePrompt"]}, {STYLE}', negative_prompt=NEGATIVE,
+ width=1344, height=768, num_inference_steps=28, guidance_scale=6.5,
+ generator=torch.Generator("cpu").manual_seed(seed)).images[0]
+ img = img.resize((800, 457))
+ img.save(os.path.join(OUT, s["id"] + ".jpg"), quality=80, optimize=True)
+ print(f"[{i}/{len(todo)}] {s['id']} {time.time() - t0:.0f}s", flush=True)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+ main(sys.argv[1])
diff --git a/tools/wire-stories.mjs b/tools/wire-stories.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c25163a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/wire-stories.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,124 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// One-shot patch (TK-12110): wire stories-data.js + images/ into index.html.
+// node tools/wire-stories.mjs [path/to/index.html]
+// Every edit is an exact-anchor replacement that must match exactly once, so a
+// file that has drifted from what this was written against fails loudly instead
+// of being half-patched.
+import fs from "node:fs";
+
+const file = process.argv[2] || new URL("../index.html", import.meta.url).pathname;
+let src = fs.readFileSync(file, "utf8");
+
+function edit(name, find, replace) {
+ const n = src.split(find).length - 1;
+ if (n !== 1) throw new Error(`${name}: anchor matched ${n} times (expected 1)`);
+ src = src.replace(find, () => replace);
+}
+
+// 1. Load the seed data before the main script.
+edit("data script", "\n<script>\n", '\n<script src="stories-data.js"></script>\n<script>\n');
+
+// 2. Append the 37 seed stories to the built-ins, give the built-ins their photos,
+// and bump the storage key (migrating v1 so admin-made stories survive).
+edit("defaults + storage key",
+ 'const STORAGE_KEY = "pandemonium24.breakingStories.v1";',
+ `DEFAULT_STORIES.forEach((s) => { s.image = s.image || \`images/\${s.id}.jpg\`; });
+DEFAULT_STORIES.push(...(window.P24_EXTRA_STORIES || []));
+
+// v2 = the 40-story channel. A browser that saved the old 3-story set under v1
+// keeps its stories (including admin-created ones) and gains the new ones.
+const STORAGE_KEY = "pandemonium24.breakingStories.v2";
+function migrateV1() {
+ try {
+ const old = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem("pandemonium24.breakingStories.v1"));
+ if (!Array.isArray(old)) return null;
+ const have = new Set(old.map((s) => s && s.id));
+ const merged = [...old, ...DEFAULT_STORIES.filter((s) => !have.has(s.id))];
+ merged.forEach((s) => { if (!s.image && DEFAULT_STORIES.some((d) => d.id === s.id)) s.image = \`images/\${s.id}.jpg\`; });
+ return JSON.stringify(merged);
+ } catch (err) {
+ return null;
+ }
+}`);
+edit("load uses migration",
+ " const raw = localStorage.getItem(STORAGE_KEY);\n if (!raw) return cloneStories(DEFAULT_STORIES);",
+ " const raw = localStorage.getItem(STORAGE_KEY) || migrateV1();\n if (!raw) return cloneStories(DEFAULT_STORIES);");
+
+// 3. Lead = the most escalated story that is still developing; concluded ones sink.
+edit("computeLead",
+ " return list.reduce((lead, s) => (s.stageIndex > lead.stageIndex ? s : lead), list[0]);",
+ ` const live = list.filter((s) => s.stageIndex < s.stages.length - 1);
+ if (!live.length) return list[0];
+ return live.reduce((lead, s) => (s.stageIndex > lead.stageIndex ? s : lead), live[0]);`);
+edit("render order",
+ " els.storyGrid.innerHTML = list\n .map((s) => storyCardHTML(s, s === lead))",
+ ` const done = (s) => s.stageIndex === s.stages.length - 1;
+ const ordered = [lead, ...list.filter((s) => s !== lead && !done(s)), ...list.filter((s) => s !== lead && done(s))];
+ els.storyGrid.innerHTML = ordered
+ .map((s) => storyCardHTML(s, s === lead))`);
+
+// 4. Photo on every card that has one (admin-made stories don't).
+edit("card photo",
+ ' <div class="kicker">\n <span class="badge-cat">${escapeHTML(story.categoryLabel)}</span>',
+ ' ${story.image ? `<img class="story-photo" src="${escapeHTML(story.image)}" alt="" width="800" height="457" ${isLead ? \'fetchpriority="high"\' : \'loading="lazy"\'} onerror="this.remove()">` : ""}\n <div class="kicker">\n <span class="badge-cat">${escapeHTML(story.categoryLabel)}</span>');
+
+// 5. Article page uses the real photo when there is one, else the SVG placeholder.
+edit("article photo",
+ " ${photoSVG(source.id)}",
+ ' ${source.image ? `<img src="${escapeHTML(source.image)}" alt="${escapeHTML(art.photoCaption || headline)}" width="800" height="457">` : photoSVG(source.id)}');
+
+// 6. With 40 stories, screen readers get one summary at most every 8s instead of
+// one announcement per story per tick.
+edit("collect updates",
+ " announce(`Update — ${story.categoryLabel}: ${story.stages[story.stageIndex].headline}`);",
+ " state.pendingUpdates = (state.pendingUpdates || []).concat(story);");
+edit("throttled announce",
+ " if (anyStoryAdvanced) {\n persistStories();",
+ ` const queued = state.pendingUpdates || [];
+ if (queued.length && state.elapsedSec - (state.lastAnnounceSec || -99) >= 8) {
+ const latest = queued[queued.length - 1];
+ const lead = \`\${latest.categoryLabel}: \${latest.stages[latest.stageIndex].headline}\`;
+ announce(queued.length === 1 ? \`Update — \${lead}\` : \`\${queued.length} stories updated. Latest — \${lead}\`);
+ state.pendingUpdates = [];
+ state.lastAnnounceSec = state.elapsedSec;
+ }
+
+ if (anyStoryAdvanced) {
+ persistStories();`);
+
+// 7. Layout: photo styling, and a 3-up grid under a full-width lead on desktop
+// (the old 2fr/1fr layout stacked every non-lead story in one narrow column).
+edit("photo css",
+ ".story-card.lead { border-color: var(--accent);",
+ `.story-photo {
+ display: block; width: calc(100% + 2rem); max-width: none; height: auto;
+ aspect-ratio: 800 / 457; object-fit: cover;
+ margin: -1rem -1rem .2rem; border-radius: .6rem .6rem 0 0;
+ background: var(--panel-border);
+}
+.story-card.concluded .story-photo { filter: grayscale(.6); }
+.article-photo img { width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: .5rem; display: block; }
+.story-card.lead { border-color: var(--accent);`);
+edit("desktop grid",
+ ` .story-grid {
+ grid-template-columns: 2fr 1fr;
+ grid-template-rows: auto auto;
+ align-items: start;
+ }
+ .story-card.lead { grid-column: 1; grid-row: 1; }
+ .story-card:not(.lead) { grid-column: 2; }`,
+ ` .story-grid { grid-template-columns: repeat(3, 1fr); align-items: stretch; }
+ .story-card.lead {
+ grid-column: 1 / -1;
+ display: grid; grid-template-columns: 3fr 2fr; column-gap: 1.5rem; row-gap: .55rem;
+ align-content: start;
+ }
+ .story-card.lead > * { grid-column: 2; }
+ .story-card.lead > .story-photo {
+ grid-column: 1; grid-row: 1 / span 8;
+ width: calc(100% + 1rem); margin: -1rem 0 -1rem -1rem;
+ height: calc(100% + 2rem); border-radius: .6rem 0 0 .6rem;
+ }`);
+
+fs.writeFileSync(file, src);
+console.log("patched", file);
← 4459222 Re-anchor saved story offsets on load so admin stories keep
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