fix(quick-router): accept a leading please on news requests

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@
 
 ### Quick-router tool-call accuracy
 
+- **News**: strip a leading `please` in `asks_for_news` so polite forms
+  (`please read the news`, `please tell me the news`) route to a fresh
+  `web_search` for top headlines — trailing `please` / time qualifiers were
+  already handled (#908).
 - **Scene / routine**: strip a leading `please` before the exact-match set and
   the `activate`/`start`/`run` prefix loop, so polite forms
   (`please activate the movie scene`, `please goodnight`, `please I am home`)

crates/genie-core/src/tools/quick.rs

@@ -3147,6 +3147,11 @@ fn weather_request(text: &str) -> Option<(String, bool)> {
 /// swallows the play_media "morning news" audio-briefing forms handled later in
 /// dispatch.
 fn asks_for_news(text: &str) -> bool {
+    // A leading "please" is politeness, not part of the request. The set below
+    // is exact, so "please read the news" / "please tell me the news" fell
+    // through to the LLM even though the trailing-"please" forms already
+    // route. Mirror asks_current_time / scene-routine / shopping-list.
+    let text = text.strip_prefix("please ").unwrap_or(text);
     let text = text.trim_end_matches(" please").trim_end();
     let text = strip_trailing_time_qualifier(text);
     matches!(
@@ -7469,6 +7474,41 @@ mod tests {
         }
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn news_request_accepts_a_leading_please() {
+        // Trailing "please" is already stripped in asks_for_news. A leading
+        // "please" was not: the set is exact, so polite forms fell through to
+        // the LLM even though their non-"please" / trailing-"please" versions
+        // already route.
+        for utterance in [
+            "Please read the news",
+            "Please what's the news?",
+            "Please tell me the news",
+            "Please give me the news",
+            "Please show me the news",
+            "Please the latest news",
+            "Please catch me up on the news",
+            // Leading politeness composes with trailing tails.
+            "Please read the news please",
+            "Please what's the news today?",
+        ] {
+            let call = route(utterance).unwrap_or_else(|| panic!("no route for {utterance:?}"));
+            assert_eq!(call.name, "web_search", "{utterance:?}");
+            assert_eq!(
+                call.arguments["query"], "top news headlines",
+                "{utterance:?}"
+            );
+            assert_eq!(call.arguments["fresh"], true, "{utterance:?}");
+        }
+
+        // Negatives: stripping "please" must not invent a news route for an
+        // unrelated polite request, and must not steal play_media briefing forms.
+        assert!(route("please help me").is_none());
+        let call = route("please put on the morning news").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(call.name, "play_media");
+        assert_eq!(call.arguments["query"], "morning news");
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn routes_lookup_to_web_search() {
         let call = route("look up ESP32 C6 Thread support").unwrap();