diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/+page.svelte
index 6cf0835..ecfedb3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/+page.svelte
@@ -738,7 +738,10 @@
                   <button class="sd-btn" class:on={homeScope === s} onclick={() => setScope(s)}>{label}</button>
                 {/each}
               </div>
-              <button class="linkish sd-change" onclick={openHomeEditor}>Change home</button>
+              <span class="sd-actions">
+                <button class="linkish" onclick={openHomeEditor}>Change</button>
+                <button class="linkish" onclick={clearHome}>Clear</button>
+              </span>
             </div>
           {/if}
           <section class="rise">
@@ -1047,7 +1050,7 @@
             background: var(--bg); color: var(--ink); cursor: pointer; border-right: 1px solid var(--line); }
   .sd-stops .sd-btn:last-child { border-right: none; }
   .sd-btn.on { background: var(--accent-soft); color: var(--accent-deep); }
-  .sd-change { margin-left: auto; }
+  .sd-actions { margin-left: auto; display: inline-flex; gap: 12px; }
   .feed-section { grid-column: 1 / -1; margin: 8px 0 2px; font-family: var(--label); font-size: 0.78rem;
                   text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.06em; color: var(--muted); }
   .grid > .feed-section:first-child { margin-top: 0; }
diff --git a/goodnews/api.py b/goodnews/api.py
index 2a52673..a26c582 100644
--- a/goodnews/api.py
+++ b/goodnews/api.py
@@ -2236,7 +2236,16 @@ def create_app() -> FastAPI:
                         have.add(a["id"])
         # Lead with a gentle, readable story (charged or paywalled stories stay
         # in the set, just not as the first thing seen).
-        items = _pick_lead(items)
+        if home_country and scope != "world" and items:
+            # Keep "closest first": pick the gentlest hero from ONLY the closest non-empty
+            # section, so _pick_lead can never float a wider-region/world story above a
+            # local one. Wider tiers stay in their order behind it.
+            lead = items[0].get("__section")
+            head = [a for a in items if a.get("__section") == lead]
+            tail = [a for a in items if a.get("__section") != lead]
+            items = _pick_lead(head) + tail
+        else:
+            items = _pick_lead(items)
         return BriefResponse(
             brief_date=data["brief_date"],
             title=data["title"],
diff --git a/tests/test_geo_feed.py b/tests/test_geo_feed.py
index 42fa0e2..a9279ee 100644
--- a/tests/test_geo_feed.py
+++ b/tests/test_geo_feed.py
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ def test_home_brief_leads_with_local(app_db):
     # NY story (#5). CA stories (a different census region) fall to 'country'.
     r = TestClient(app_db).get("/api/brief?home=US-NY&limit=10").json()
     assert r["title"] == "Close to home"
+    assert r["items"][0]["section"] == "state"            # hero comes from the closest section
     state_ids = {it["id"] for it in r["items"] if it["section"] == "state"}
     assert state_ids == {1, 2, 3, 4}                      # high-conf NY only
     a5 = next(it for it in r["items"] if it["id"] == 5)