diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/home3/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/home3/+page.svelte
index 4bba575..65cd09a 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/home3/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/home3/+page.svelte
@@ -8,6 +8,15 @@
   let news = $state(null);   // {id, title, summary, image}
   let art = $state(null);    // {title, artist, year, image}
 
+  // headline truncated on a whole-word boundary (no mid-word ellipsis)
+  function clampWords(s, max = 48) {
+    if (!s || s.length <= max) return s;
+    const cut = s.slice(0, max);
+    const i = cut.lastIndexOf(' ');
+    return (i > 0 ? cut.slice(0, i) : cut).replace(/[\s,;:.]+$/, '') + '…';
+  }
+  let headline = $derived(clampWords(news?.title ?? 'What went right this week: the good news that actually matters'));
+
   onMount(async () => {
     try {
       const a = await getJSON('/api/art/today');
@@ -61,7 +70,7 @@
       <div class="news-photo" style={news?.image ? `background-image:url(${news.image})` : ''}></div>
       <div class="news-body">
         <span class="label" style="color:#0083ad">GOOD NEWS</span>
-        <h2>{news?.title ?? 'What went right this week: the good news that actually matters'}</h2>
+        <h2>{headline}</h2>
         <p class="summary">{news?.summary || "We read the week so you don't have to doomscroll it. Five quietly hopeful stories, summarised to the gist."}</p>
         <div class="news-foot">
           <a class="link news-link" href={news?.id ? `/a/${news.id}` : '/'}>Read article</a>
@@ -136,18 +145,23 @@
     </div>
     </div>
 
-    <!-- skinny Word / Quote of the day strip (placeholder content; real engine wired later) -->
-    <div class="card wotd">
-      <div class="wotd-half">
+    <!-- "small joys" rail: three evenly-weighted daily delights (placeholder content) -->
+    <div class="joys">
+      <div class="joy joy-word">
         <span class="label">WORD OF THE DAY</span>
-        <span class="word">Serene</span>
+        <p class="word-line"><span class="word">Serene</span> <span class="word-meta">adj · /səˈriːn/</span></p>
         <span class="def">Calm, peaceful, and untroubled.</span>
       </div>
-      <div class="wotd-half">
+      <div class="joy joy-quote">
         <span class="label">QUOTE OF THE DAY</span>
-        <span class="quote">“Very little is needed to make a happy life.”</span>
+        <span class="qglyph" aria-hidden="true">“</span>
+        <span class="quote">Very little is needed to make a happy life.</span>
         <span class="quote-by">Marcus Aurelius</span>
       </div>
+      <div class="joy joy-fact">
+        <div class="joy-top"><span class="label">A GOOD THING TODAY</span><span class="soon">SOON</span></div>
+        <span class="fact">In 1928, penicillin was discovered by a happy accident.</span>
+      </div>
     </div>
     </div>
   </main>
@@ -201,12 +215,12 @@
   .bento {
     max-width: 1180px; width: 100%; margin: 0 auto; box-sizing: border-box;
     padding: 0 clamp(18px, 5vw, 44px) 16px;
-    display: grid; grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 1.18fr) minmax(0, 1.82fr); gap: 18px;
+    display: grid; grid-template-columns: minmax(0, 1.18fr) minmax(0, 1.82fr); gap: 16px;
   }
   /* right column matches the News height; Art stays pinned to the TOP and the Play/Moment
      pair to the BOTTOM, with the extra space distributed BETWEEN them (FIX1). The cards
      themselves keep their natural size and never stretch. */
-  .rightcol { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 18px; }
+  .rightcol { display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 16px; }
   .rightcol .art { flex: none; }                              /* Art pinned to the top */
   .pair-wrap { flex: 1; display: flex; align-items: center; } /* fill the rest; pair vertically centered */
   .card {
@@ -228,7 +242,7 @@
   .news-body { padding: 24px 26px; flex: 1; display: flex; flex-direction: column; }
   .news h2 {
     font-size: clamp(1.55rem, 2.6vw, 30px); line-height: 1.14; margin: 12px 0 0;
-    display: -webkit-box; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: 3; line-clamp: 3; overflow: hidden;
+    display: -webkit-box; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-line-clamp: 2; line-clamp: 2; overflow: hidden;
   }
   /* the gist fades out at the bottom (FIX 1) instead of a hard ellipsis — full read on /news */
   .summary {
@@ -263,7 +277,7 @@
   }
 
   /* bottom pair */
-  .pair { width: 100%; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; gap: 18px; }
+  .pair { width: 100%; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; gap: 16px; }
   .play { background: #FFF3DC; border: 1px solid #f6e2b8; display: flex; flex-direction: column; }
   .play-top { padding: 22px 24px 0; }
   .play h3 { font-size: clamp(1.25rem, 1.9vw, 23px); margin: 14px 0 0; color: #5c3d0c; }
@@ -299,15 +313,22 @@
   .moment-line { font-family: 'Newsreader', Georgia, serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 18px; line-height: 1.3; color: #214a35; margin: 14px 0 0; }
   .moment-meta { margin-top: auto; padding-top: 16px; font-size: 13px; color: #6f9683; }
 
-  /* skinny Word / Quote of the day strip — warm neutral, two halves split by a divider */
-  .wotd { flex: none; display: flex; align-items: stretch; background: #f1ece1; border: 1px solid #e6ddc9; }
-  .wotd-half { flex: 1; padding: 15px 22px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; justify-content: center; gap: 3px; min-width: 0; }
-  .wotd-half + .wotd-half { border-left: 1px solid #e6ddc9; }
-  .wotd .label { color: var(--muted); }
-  .wotd .word { font-family: 'Newsreader', Georgia, serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 20px; color: var(--ink); }
-  .wotd .def { font-size: 13px; color: var(--body); }
-  .wotd .quote { font-family: 'Newsreader', Georgia, serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.3; color: #2d2a25; }
-  .wotd .quote-by { font-size: 12px; color: var(--muted); }
+  /* "small joys" rail — three evenly-weighted daily delights, each its own quiet tint */
+  .joys { flex: none; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr; gap: 16px; }
+  .joy { border-radius: 18px; padding: 14px 18px; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 4px; min-width: 0; }
+  .joy-word { background: #f1ece1; border: 1px solid #e6ddc9; }
+  .joy-quote { background: #f2ecf6; border: 1px solid #e4d8ee; }
+  .joy-fact { background: #e8f2ea; border: 1px solid #cfe5d4; }
+  .joy .label { color: var(--muted); }
+  .word-line { margin: 0; display: flex; align-items: baseline; gap: 7px; flex-wrap: wrap; }
+  .joy .word { font-family: 'Newsreader', Georgia, serif; font-weight: 600; font-size: 19px; color: var(--ink); }
+  .word-meta { font-size: 12px; color: var(--muted); font-style: italic; }
+  .joy .def { font-size: 12.5px; color: var(--body); line-height: 1.4; }
+  .qglyph { font-family: 'Newsreader', Georgia, serif; font-size: 26px; line-height: 1; height: 13px; color: #b9a8d6; }
+  .joy .quote { font-family: 'Newsreader', Georgia, serif; font-style: italic; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.3; color: #2d2a25; }
+  .quote-by { font-size: 11.5px; color: var(--muted); }
+  .joy-fact .joy-top { display: flex; align-items: center; justify-content: space-between; }
+  .fact { font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; color: var(--body); }
 
   .foot {
     text-align: center; max-width: 1180px; width: 100%; margin: 14px auto 0; box-sizing: border-box;
@@ -324,7 +345,6 @@
     .art { flex-direction: column; }
     .art-swatch { width: 100%; min-height: 130px; }
     .pair { grid-template-columns: 1fr; }
-    .wotd { flex-direction: column; }
-    .wotd-half + .wotd-half { border-left: none; border-top: 1px solid #e6ddc9; }
+    .joys { grid-template-columns: 1fr; }
   }
 </style>