diff --git a/app/api/news/route.ts b/app/api/news/route.ts
index fbad39b..18df599 100644
--- a/app/api/news/route.ts
+++ b/app/api/news/route.ts
@@ -7,11 +7,15 @@ const API_URL = 'http://172.16.0.104:8000';
 function formatDateTime(dateStr: string): { displayDate: string, timestamp: string } {
   try {
     const date = new Date(dateStr);
+    
+    // Format like "17 avr." to match the Duties widget style
     const day = date.getDate();
-    const month = date.toLocaleString('fr-FR', { month: 'short' }).toLowerCase();
+    const month = date.toLocaleString('fr-FR', { month: 'short' })
+      .toLowerCase()
+      .replace('.', ''); // Remove the dot that comes with French locale
     
     return {
-      displayDate: `${day} ${month}.`,
+      displayDate: `${day} ${month}.`, // Add the dot back for consistent styling
       timestamp: date.toLocaleString('fr-FR', {
         day: '2-digit',
         month: 'short',
@@ -35,7 +39,7 @@ function truncateText(text: string, maxLength: number): string {
 
 // Helper function to format category
 function formatCategory(category: string): string {
-  if (!category) return 'GENERAL';
+  if (!category) return null; // Return null to match the interface
   const categoryMap: { [key: string]: string } = {
     'GLOBAL ISSUES - WORLD AFFAIRS': 'WORLD',
     'UN NEWS - GLOBAL NEWS': 'UN NEWS',
@@ -58,6 +62,17 @@ function formatSource(source: string): string {
   return sourceName.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + sourceName.slice(1);
 }
 
+interface NewsItem {
+  id: number;
+  title: string;
+  displayDate: string;
+  timestamp: string;
+  source: string;
+  description: string | null;
+  category: string | null;
+  url: string;
+}
+
 export async function GET() {
   try {
     console.log('Fetching news from FastAPI server...');
@@ -75,12 +90,12 @@ export async function GET() {
 
     const articles = await response.json();
 
-    const formattedNews = articles.map((article: any) => {
+    const formattedNews: NewsItem[] = articles.map((article: any) => {
       const { displayDate, timestamp } = formatDateTime(article.date);
       return {
         id: article.id,
         title: truncateText(article.title, 70),
-        description: truncateText(article.description, 100),
+        description: article.description ? truncateText(article.description, 100) : null,
         displayDate,
         timestamp,
         source: formatSource(article.source),