diff --git a/src/app/settings/page.tsx b/src/app/settings/page.tsx
index e604e44..170a58c 100644
--- a/src/app/settings/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/settings/page.tsx
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ import {
   ChevronRight,
   Eye,
   EyeOff,
+  Cloud,
+  LucideNewspaper,
 } from 'lucide-react';
 import { useEffect, useState, useRef } from 'react';
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';
@@ -226,6 +228,8 @@ export default function SettingsPage() {
   >(null);
   const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(true);
   const [automaticSuggestions, setAutomaticSuggestions] = useState(true);
+  const [showWeatherWidget, setShowWeatherWidget] = useState(true);
+  const [showNewsWidget, setShowNewsWidget] = useState(true);
   const [measureUnit, setMeasureUnit] = useState<'Imperial' | 'Metric'>(
     'Metric',
   );
@@ -322,6 +326,10 @@ export default function SettingsPage() {
       setAutomaticSuggestions(
         localStorage.getItem('autoSuggestions') !== 'false', // default to true if not set
       );
+      setShowWeatherWidget(
+        localStorage.getItem('showWeatherWidget') !== 'false',
+      );
+      setShowNewsWidget(localStorage.getItem('showNewsWidget') !== 'false');
       const storedContextWindow = parseInt(
         localStorage.getItem('ollamaContextWindow') ?? '2048',
       );
@@ -762,6 +770,80 @@ export default function SettingsPage() {
                 <p className="text-sm">Theme</p>
                 <ThemeSwitcher />
               </div>
+              <div className="flex flex-col space-y-1">
+                <p className="text-sm">Home Page Widgets</p>
+                <div className="flex flex-col space-y-2">
+                  <div className="flex items-center justify-between p-3 bg-surface rounded-lg hover:bg-surface-2 transition-colors">
+                    <div className="flex items-center space-x-3">
+                      <div className="p-2 bg-surface-2 rounded-lg">
+                        <Cloud size={18} />
+                      </div>
+                      <div>
+                        <p className="text-sm font-medium">Weather Widget</p>
+                        <p className="text-xs mt-0.5">
+                          Show or hide the weather widget on the home page
+                        </p>
+                      </div>
+                    </div>
+                    <Switch
+                      checked={showWeatherWidget}
+                      onChange={(checked) => {
+                        setShowWeatherWidget(checked);
+                        localStorage.setItem(
+                          'showWeatherWidget',
+                          checked.toString(),
+                        );
+                      }}
+                      className={cn(
+                        showWeatherWidget ? 'bg-accent' : 'bg-surface-2',
+                        'relative inline-flex h-6 w-11 items-center rounded-full transition-colors focus:outline-none',
+                      )}
+                    >
+                      <span
+                        className={cn(
+                          showWeatherWidget ? 'translate-x-6' : 'translate-x-1',
+                          'inline-block h-4 w-4 transform rounded-full bg-white transition-transform',
+                        )}
+                      />
+                    </Switch>
+                  </div>
+
+                  <div className="flex items-center justify-between p-3 bg-surface rounded-lg hover:bg-surface-2 transition-colors">
+                    <div className="flex items-center space-x-3">
+                      <div className="p-2 bg-surface-2 rounded-lg">
+                        <LucideNewspaper size={18} />
+                      </div>
+                      <div>
+                        <p className="text-sm font-medium">News Widget</p>
+                        <p className="text-xs mt-0.5">
+                          Show or hide the news widget on the home page
+                        </p>
+                      </div>
+                    </div>
+                    <Switch
+                      checked={showNewsWidget}
+                      onChange={(checked) => {
+                        setShowNewsWidget(checked);
+                        localStorage.setItem(
+                          'showNewsWidget',
+                          checked.toString(),
+                        );
+                      }}
+                      className={cn(
+                        showNewsWidget ? 'bg-accent' : 'bg-surface-2',
+                        'relative inline-flex h-6 w-11 items-center rounded-full transition-colors focus:outline-none',
+                      )}
+                    >
+                      <span
+                        className={cn(
+                          showNewsWidget ? 'translate-x-6' : 'translate-x-1',
+                          'inline-block h-4 w-4 transform rounded-full bg-white transition-transform',
+                        )}
+                      />
+                    </Switch>
+                  </div>
+                </div>
+              </div>
               <div className="flex flex-col space-y-1">
                 <p className="text-sm">Measurement Units</p>
                 <Select
diff --git a/src/components/EmptyChat.tsx b/src/components/EmptyChat.tsx
index 30607f0..cf7bee5 100644
--- a/src/components/EmptyChat.tsx
+++ b/src/components/EmptyChat.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { Settings } from 'lucide-react';
-import { useState } from 'react';
+import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
 import { File } from './ChatWindow';
 import Link from 'next/link';
 import MessageInput from './MessageInput';
@@ -31,6 +31,13 @@ const EmptyChat = ({
   files: File[];
   setFiles: (files: File[]) => void;
 }) => {
+  const [showWeatherWidget, setShowWeatherWidget] = useState(true);
+  const [showNewsWidget, setShowNewsWidget] = useState(true);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    setShowWeatherWidget(localStorage.getItem('showWeatherWidget') !== 'false');
+    setShowNewsWidget(localStorage.getItem('showNewsWidget') !== 'false');
+  }, []);
   return (
     <div className="relative">
       <div className="absolute w-full flex flex-row items-center justify-end mr-5 mt-5">
@@ -40,7 +47,7 @@ const EmptyChat = ({
       </div>
       <div className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center min-h-screen max-w-screen-sm mx-auto p-2 space-y-4">
         <div className="flex flex-col items-center justify-center w-full space-y-8">
-          <h2 className="text-3xl font-medium -mt-8">Research begins here.</h2>
+          {/* <h2 className="text-3xl font-medium -mt-8">Research begins here.</h2> */}
           <MessageInput
             firstMessage={true}
             loading={false}
@@ -58,12 +65,16 @@ const EmptyChat = ({
           />
         </div>
         <div className="flex flex-col w-full gap-4 mt-2 sm:flex-row sm:justify-center">
-          <div className="flex-1 w-full">
-            <WeatherWidget />
-          </div>
-          <div className="flex-1 w-full">
-            <NewsArticleWidget />
-          </div>
+          {showWeatherWidget && (
+            <div className="flex-1 w-full">
+              <WeatherWidget />
+            </div>
+          )}
+          {showNewsWidget && (
+            <div className="flex-1 w-full">
+              <NewsArticleWidget />
+            </div>
+          )}
         </div>
       </div>
     </div>
diff --git a/src/components/MessageInput.tsx b/src/components/MessageInput.tsx
index 62fff18..71d044b 100644
--- a/src/components/MessageInput.tsx
+++ b/src/components/MessageInput.tsx
@@ -150,7 +150,11 @@ const MessageInput = ({
             onChange={(e) => setMessage(e.target.value)}
             minRows={1}
             className="px-3 py-2 overflow-hidden flex rounded-lg bg-transparent text-sm resize-none w-full max-h-24 lg:max-h-36 xl:max-h-48"
-            placeholder={firstMessage ? 'Ask anything...' : 'Ask a follow-up'}
+            placeholder={
+              firstMessage
+                ? 'What would you like to learn today?'
+                : 'Ask a follow-up'
+            }
             autoFocus={true}
           />
           <Optimization
diff --git a/src/components/MessageInputActions/ModelSelector.tsx b/src/components/MessageInputActions/ModelSelector.tsx
index 03f4d74..09e92d2 100644
--- a/src/components/MessageInputActions/ModelSelector.tsx
+++ b/src/components/MessageInputActions/ModelSelector.tsx
@@ -105,14 +105,22 @@ const ModelSelector = ({
 
   // Derive display text from providerModels + selectedModel without clearing on null
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!selectedModel || !selectedModel.provider || !selectedModel.model || !providerModels || Object.keys(providerModels).length === 0) {
+    if (
+      !selectedModel ||
+      !selectedModel.provider ||
+      !selectedModel.model ||
+      !providerModels ||
+      Object.keys(providerModels).length === 0
+    ) {
       // Do not clear existing display to prevent flicker
       return;
     }
 
     const provider = providerModels[selectedModel.provider];
     if (!provider) {
-      console.warn(`Provider not found: ${selectedModel.provider} available providers: ${JSON.stringify(providerModels)}`);
+      console.warn(
+        `Provider not found: ${selectedModel.provider} available providers: ${JSON.stringify(providerModels)}`,
+      );
       return;
     }