diff --git a/src/components/Briefing.tsx b/src/components/Briefing.tsx
index 480a4ab..9a4b52d 100644
--- a/src/components/Briefing.tsx
+++ b/src/components/Briefing.tsx
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import {
   XAxis,
   YAxis,
 } from 'recharts';
-import { Table2 } from 'lucide-react';
+import { Loader2, Table2 } from 'lucide-react';
 import type { BriefingData, Slice } from '../api/charts';
 import { RECOVERY_ORDER } from '../api/charts';
 import { useTheme } from '../theme';
@@ -57,6 +57,44 @@ const RECOVERY_HUE: Record<string, keyof typeof HUES.light> = {
   'window closed': 'gray',
 };
 
+/** Holds the charts' place while the lakehouse views come back (2-6 s on a
+ *  cold warehouse). Same frame, same height, so nothing jumps when they land. */
+export function BriefingSkeleton({ error }: { error?: string | null }) {
+  return (
+    <section className="space-y-3" aria-busy={!error} aria-live="polite">
+      <div className="grid gap-3 lg:grid-cols-2">
+        {[0, 1].map((i) => (
+          <figure key={i} className="rounded-xl border border-line bg-panel px-4 pt-3.5 pb-2">
+            <figcaption className="space-y-1.5">
+              <span className="block h-3.5 w-2/5 animate-pulse rounded bg-panel2" />
+              <span className="block h-3 w-3/5 animate-pulse rounded bg-panel2" />
+            </figcaption>
+            <div className="mt-2 flex h-[220px] items-end gap-2 px-2 pb-6">
+              {[55, 40, 70, 35, 60, 45, 80, 50].map((h, j) => (
+                <span
+                  key={j}
+                  className="flex-1 animate-pulse rounded-t bg-panel2"
+                  style={{ height: `${h}%`, animationDelay: `${j * 90}ms` }}
+                />
+              ))}
+            </div>
+          </figure>
+        ))}
+      </div>
+      <p className="flex items-center gap-2 text-xs text-faint">
+        {error ? (
+          <>Charts unavailable — {error}</>
+        ) : (
+          <>
+            <Loader2 className="h-3.5 w-3.5 animate-spin" />
+            Drawing charts from the lakehouse…
+          </>
+        )}
+      </p>
+    </section>
+  );
+}
+
 export function Briefing({ data, slice }: { data: BriefingData; slice: Slice | null }) {
   const { theme } = useTheme();
   const c = HUES[theme];
diff --git a/src/format.ts b/src/format.ts
index 9ac217d..4cd2a3d 100644
--- a/src/format.ts
+++ b/src/format.ts
@@ -105,10 +105,13 @@ export function splitRecommendation(block: string): { title: string; body: strin
   // a period FOLLOWED BY A SPACE, a colon, or a newline. Never a bare period:
   // "$1.56M" and "CO-197" must survive intact.
   const rest = block.replace(/^\s*\d+\.\s*/, '');
-  const m = rest.match(/^([\s\S]*?)(?:\.\s|:\s|\n|$)([\s\S]*)$/);
-  if (!m) return { title: '', body: rest };
-  const title = m[1].trim();
-  const body = (m[2] ?? '').trim();
+  // Colon or newline first: "Payer liaison – M. Alvarez (BSM): negotiate…" titles at the colon,
+  // not at the initial. Otherwise the first real sentence (see `sentences`).
+  const cut = rest.search(/:\s|\n/);
+  const first = sentences(rest)[0] ?? rest;
+  const useColon = cut >= 0 && cut < first.length;
+  const title = (useColon ? rest.slice(0, cut) : first.replace(/[.!?]$/, '')).trim();
+  const body = (useColon ? rest.slice(cut + 1) : rest.slice(first.length)).trim();
   // A "title" that swallowed the whole block means there was no break — show it as body.
   if (title.length > 140) return { title: '', body: rest };
   return { title, body };
@@ -137,12 +140,33 @@ export function sqlSteps(v: unknown): Array<{ label: string; sql: string; note:
  * headline is its first sentence or two — enough to say what happened, short
  * enough to be set at 22px. Cut on sentence boundaries, never mid-clause.
  */
+/** Split prose into sentences. A period ends a sentence only when a space (or
+ *  the end) follows it AND it is not an initial or honorific: "44.7% (recent)",
+ *  "M. Alvarez" and "Dr. Okafor" stay whole. */
+export function sentences(s: string): string[] {
+  const out: string[] = [];
+  let start = 0;
+  for (let i = 0; i < s.length; i++) {
+    const ch = s[i];
+    if (ch !== '.' && ch !== '!' && ch !== '?') continue;
+    const next = s[i + 1];
+    if (next !== undefined && next !== ' ') continue;
+    const prevWord = s.slice(start, i).match(/(\S+)$/)?.[1] ?? '';
+    if (ch === '.' && (/^[A-Z]$/.test(prevWord) || /^(Dr|Mr|Mrs|Ms|St|vs|approx|est|no|Inc|Co)$/i.test(prevWord))) continue;
+    out.push(s.slice(start, i + 1));
+    start = i + 1;
+  }
+  if (start < s.length) out.push(s.slice(start));
+  return out.map((x) => x.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+}
+
 export function headline(summary: unknown, maxChars = 220): string {
   const s = str(summary).replace(/\s+/g, ' ').trim();
   if (!s) return '';
-  const sentences = s.match(/[^.!?]+[.!?]+(\s|$)/g) ?? [s];
+  const parts = sentences(s).map((x) => x + ' ');
+  const sentences_ = parts.length ? parts : [s];
   let out = '';
-  for (const sen of sentences) {
+  for (const sen of sentences_) {
     if (out && (out + sen).length > maxChars) break;
     out += sen;
     if (out.length > maxChars * 0.6) break;
diff --git a/src/screens/CaseScreen.tsx b/src/screens/CaseScreen.tsx
index 6bddb74..9971e7e 100644
--- a/src/screens/CaseScreen.tsx
+++ b/src/screens/CaseScreen.tsx
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import { Badge, Button, ErrorNote, Facts, Spinner } from '../components/core';
 import { ActivityForm } from '../components/ActivityForm';
 import { AvaLive } from '../components/AvaLive';
 import { Disclosure, FullStory, Recheck, Recommendations, SqlEvidence, Verdict } from '../components/Findings';
-import { Briefing } from '../components/Briefing';
+import { Briefing, BriefingSkeleton } from '../components/Briefing';
 import { loadBriefing, sliceOf } from '../api/charts';
 import type { Action } from '../api/config';
 import { dateTime, num, str } from '../format';
@@ -171,7 +171,11 @@ export function CaseScreen() {
       {hasFindings && (
         <>
           <Verdict row={row} />
-          {briefing.data && <Briefing data={briefing.data} slice={slice} />}
+          {briefing.data ? (
+            <Briefing data={briefing.data} slice={slice} />
+          ) : (
+            <BriefingSkeleton error={briefing.error} />
+          )}
           <Recheck row={row} />
           <Recommendations row={row} />
         </>