update

news_sender/sender_service.py

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ from tracking_integration import inject_tracking_pixel, replace_article_links, g
 
 # Load environment variables from backend/.env
 # Try multiple locations (Docker vs local)
+# Note: override=False ensures Docker environment variables take precedence
 env_locations = [
     Path('/app/.env'),  # Docker location
     Path(__file__).parent.parent / 'backend' / '.env',  # Local location
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ env_locations = [
 env_loaded = False
 for env_path in env_locations:
     if env_path.exists():
-        load_dotenv(dotenv_path=env_path)
+        load_dotenv(dotenv_path=env_path, override=False)  # Don't override existing env vars
         print(f"✓ Loaded configuration from: {env_path}")
         env_loaded = True
         break
@@ -50,8 +51,8 @@ if not env_loaded:
 
 class Config:
     """Configuration for news sender"""
-    # MongoDB
-    MONGODB_URI = os.getenv('MONGODB_URI', 'mongodb://localhost:27017/')
+    # MongoDB - prioritize environment variable over .env file
+    MONGODB_URI = os.environ.get('MONGODB_URI') or os.getenv('MONGODB_URI', 'mongodb://localhost:27017/')
     DB_NAME = 'munich_news'
     
     # Email
@@ -249,8 +250,11 @@ def render_newsletter_html(articles, subscriber_categories=None, tracking_enable
     
     # Filter articles by subscriber's category preferences
     if subscriber_categories:
+        print(f"  Filtering for categories: {subscriber_categories}")
         filtered_articles = [a for a in articles if a.get('category', 'general') in subscriber_categories]
+        print(f"  Filtered {len(articles)} articles down to {len(filtered_articles)} articles")
     else:
+        print(f"  No category filter - using all {len(articles)} articles")
         filtered_articles = articles
     
     # Group articles by category (max 3 per category)