<div class="news-grid">
<?php
$sticky_posts = get_option('sticky_posts');
$args = array(
'post_type' => 'post',
'posts_per_page' => 4,
'ignore_sticky_posts' => 0, // Ensures sticky posts are prioritized and moved to the front of the list
'orderby' => 'date',
'order' => 'DESC',
);
$query = new WP_Query($args);
while ($query->have_posts()) {
$query->the_post();
$is_sticky = in_array(get_the_ID(), $sticky_posts);
if ($is_sticky) { ?>
<div class="news-card featured">
<div class="news-image">
<div class="news-image-placeholder"
style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #1D4E89 0%, #2a5f9e 100%);">
<?php the_post_thumbnail(); ?>
</div>
<span class="news-badge featured-badge">Featured</span>
</div>
<div class="news-content">
<div class="news-meta">
<span class="news-category"><?php echo get_the_category_list(', '); ?></span>
<span class="news-date"><?php echo the_time(get_option('date_format')); ?></span>
</div>
<h3 class="news-title"><?php the_title(); ?></h3>
<p class="news-excerpt">
<?php echo mb_strimwidth(strip_tags(get_the_content()), 0,100) ?>
</p>
<a href="<?php the_permalink( ); ?>" class="news-link">Read Full Article →</a>
</div>
</div>
<?php } else { ?>
<div class="news-card">
<div class="news-image">
<div class="news-image-placeholder"
style="background: linear-gradient(135deg, #333333 0%, #555555 100%);">
<?php the_post_thumbnail(); ?>
</div>
<span class="news-badge">Press Release</span>
</div>
<div class="news-content">
<div class="news-meta">
<span class="news-category"><?php echo get_the_category_list(); ?></span>
<span class="news-date"><?php echo the_time(get_option('date_format')); ?></span>
</div>
<h3 class="news-title"><?php the_title(); ?></h3>
<p class="news-excerpt">
<?php echo mb_strimwidth(strip_tags(get_the_content()), 0, 100) ?>
</p>
<a href="<?php the_permalink( ); ?>" class="news-link">Read More →</a>
</div>
</div>
<?php }
?>
<?php }
?>
</div>