diff --git a/app/api/news/route.ts b/app/api/news/route.ts
index 36b17dc..b186d1f 100644
--- a/app/api/news/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/news/route.ts
@@ -5,10 +5,11 @@ import { Pool } from 'pg';
 const DB_HOST = process.env.DB_HOST || '172.16.0.104';
 const DB_PORT = process.env.DB_PORT || '5432';
 const DB_USER = process.env.DB_USER || 'alma';
+const DB_PASSWORD = process.env.DB_PASSWORD || 'alma'; // Default password
 const DB_NAME = process.env.DB_NAME || 'rivacube';
 
 // Construct connection string from components
-const connectionString = `postgresql://${DB_USER}@${DB_HOST}:${DB_PORT}/${DB_NAME}`;
+const connectionString = `postgresql://${DB_USER}:${DB_PASSWORD}@${DB_HOST}:${DB_PORT}/${DB_NAME}`;
 
 // Log the connection string (with password masked for security)
 const maskedConnectionString = connectionString.replace(/\/\/[^:]+:[^@]+@/, '//***:***@');