news: beginner-language summary, 4 h headline window, drop neutral headlines; --news log report

Verdict from the 3-week signal log (backtest/research/news_sentiment_value_2026-09-04.md):
news_sentiment is a trailing-24h echo of price (r +0.67 with the past day, +0.03 with
the next; most bullish 2 h after the 08-25 top, bearish 44 h later; most bearish at the
09-02 low, bullish 16 h later). Per-headline LLM labels are correct; the 12 h pool and
the averaging are what destroy the information. Both gating flags stay False.

- news_engine: _LLM_SUMMARY_SYSTEM rewritten for someone who has never traded (no
  acronyms, two worked examples); summary payload newest-first with the platform's own
  gold direction; reply cap 300 -> 400 chars.
- config: headline_max_age_seconds 43200 -> 14400; RSS items without a parsable
  pubDate are dropped (they used to be stamped "now" and never aged out).
- news_engine.get_fundamental_context drops headlines whose every relevant score is
  inside +-0.1 (_is_neutral_headline) before the per-currency mean; news_sentiment
  from this date is a mean over directional <=4 h headlines (log comparisons split here).
- static: dashboard copy for the 4 h pool; news_summary.php prompt gets the same style rule.
- analyze_signal_log: --news (under --stored-candles) prints sentiment lead/lag with
  split halves, sentiment at the window high/low with flip lags, and outcome buckets by
  direction x news x macro stance; LogRow gains news_sentiment/event_risk; _row_index shared.
- tests: 406 -> 414 (age window, undated drop, neutral filter, summary prompt/payload/cap,
  --news helpers, load_rows round-trip); RSS fixtures now carry a pubDate.
- docs: user/beginner guides, CLAUDE.md, deploy README.

Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_0169BgFtWjp1SEAa5392Q9jH

static/dashboard.js

@@ -589,10 +589,10 @@ function renderWireTotal() {
       <span class="display-6 fw-bold ${cls}">${signed(mean, 2)}</span>
       <span class="fw-bold ${cls}">${dir}</span>
       <span class="ms-auto text-end small text-secondary">${scored.length} headlines · sum ${signed(sum, 1)}<br>
-        ${up} bullish · ${dn} bearish · ${scored.length - up - dn} neutral</span>
+        ${up} bullish · ${dn} bearish</span>
     </div>
   </div>`;
-  box.title = `Mean sentiment of all ${scored.length} scored headlines (−1…+1). Sum ${signed(sum, 1)}. Bullish/bearish counted at |score| > 0.05.`;
+  box.title = `Mean sentiment of all ${scored.length} scored headlines (−1…+1). Sum ${signed(sum, 1)}. Only headlines from the last 4 hours that lean one way are published (neutral ones are removed before scoring).`;
 }
 
 function renderWire() {
@@ -601,7 +601,7 @@ function renderWire() {
   $("wire-note").textContent = news.generated_at ? `updated ${fmtAge(news.generated_at)}` : "";
   renderWireTotal();
   if (!items.length) {
-    $("wire").innerHTML = `<div class="text-secondary small py-2">No recent gold/dollar headlines.</div>`;
+    $("wire").innerHTML = `<div class="text-secondary small py-2">No gold or dollar headlines in the last 4 hours.</div>`;
     return;
   }
   const item = h => {

static/news_summary.php

@@ -51,7 +51,10 @@ In 1-2 plain-English sentences (max 45 words) explain what this news
 means for the GOLD (XAU/USD) price and WHY it is bullish, bearish, or
 neutral. If your reading clearly contradicts xau_score, add "(the
 automated score disagrees)". Never write the words "xau_score" or
-"score" — a general reader sees this text.
+"score" — a general reader sees this text. Write for someone who has
+never traded: short simple sentences, no acronyms or abbreviations
+(say "the US central bank", not "the Fed"; "interest rates", not
+"yields").
 Gold doctrine: hawkish Fed / rate hikes / rising real yields / strong
 dollar are gold-bearish; easing / rate cuts / safe-haven flows /
 geopolitical stress / weak dollar are gold-bullish.