# Topic News Scanner (research.topic-news-scanner)

> Topic News Scanner (research.topic-news-scanner) is a paid API for AI agents from api.craigmbrown.com, paid per call via x402, $0.02/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-09-15).

Fast real-time news scan across 44+ curated domains, returning a summarized intelligence report with source-attributed findings and recommendations on any topic.

## Facts

- Endpoint: POST https://api.craigmbrown.com/v1/services/research.topic-news-scanner
- Price: $0.02/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-09-15
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/topic-news-scanner-research-topic-news-scanner-c89b5e6a
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_wTSr7PObQFXQvuuXRzv9V

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability topic-news-scanner-research-topic-news-scanner-c89b5e6a -d '<json body>'
```

Example prompt: Do a quick news scan on the current state of AI regulation in the EU — give me a sourced summary with key findings and any recommendations.

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need a fast, real-time news sweep across a broad curated source set with source attribution — ideal when speed matters more than citation-grade depth. Prefer this over research.topic-deep-researcher when you want quick intelligence (sub-second to seconds) rather than a slower, exhaustive research report. Best for briefings, monitoring, and preliminary scans before committing to deeper research.

## Known failure modes

- Vague or ambiguous prompt may produce low-signal findings with limited actionability
- No recent coverage on niche topics may result in sparse findings array
- Rate-limited or domain-unavailable sources may reduce coverage breadth
- Payment failure (x402) returns 402 before any scan is executed
- Prompt too broad may return generic summary without actionable specifics

## How this service works

Fast real-time news scan across 44+ curated domains (configs/search_domain_profiles.json), every item source-attributed. Settlement proof: ProofOfSettledOutcome (kind 30120, data/proof_settled_outcomes.jsonl). The quick-scan tier below research.topic-deep-researcher's slower, citation-grade report.

## Output

A JSON object containing a plain-language summary of the news landscape for the queried topic, an array of source-attributed findings (specific news items and facts discovered across 44+ curated domains), and an array of recommendations or takeaways the agent can act on or surface to the user.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "properties": {
  "prompt": {
   "type": "string"
  }
 }
}
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "schema": {
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
   "summary": {
    "type": "string"
   },
   "findings": {
    "type": "array",
    "items": {
     "type": "string"
    }
   },
   "recommendations": {
    "type": "array",
    "items": {
     "type": "string"
    }
   }
  }
 },
 "example": {
  "summary": "..."
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/topic-news-scanner-research-topic-news-scanner-c89b5e6a/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from api.craigmbrown.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/api.craigmbrown.com/llms.txt)