diff --git a/ai_processor/cache_manager.py b/ai_processor/cache_manager.py
index 6a9d252..4ac38ce 100644
--- a/ai_processor/cache_manager.py
+++ b/ai_processor/cache_manager.py
@@ -32,11 +32,13 @@ class CacheManager:
                     "created": datetime.now().isoformat(),
                     "processed_files": {}
                 }
+                # Set the cache attribute directly
                 self.cache = cache_data
                 self._save_cache()
                 return cache_data
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error(f"Error loading cache file {self.cache_file}: {e}")
+            logger.info("Creating new empty cache due to load error")
             # Return empty cache on error
             return {
                 "cache_version": "1.0",
diff --git a/ai_processor/processed_articles_cache.json b/ai_processor/processed_articles_cache.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..13cf650
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ai_processor/processed_articles_cache.json
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+{
+  "cache_version": "1.0",
+  "created": "2026-02-02T10:02:48.000Z",
+  "processed_files": {}
+}
\ No newline at end of file