diff --git a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/events/snowplow.ts b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/events/snowplow.ts
index 661a3b4c..a90d9454 100644
--- a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/events/snowplow.ts
+++ b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/events/snowplow.ts
@@ -54,14 +54,13 @@ export const generateContext = (
  */
 export const generateSnowplowEntity = (
   prospect: Prospect,
-  prospectSource: string,
   runDetails: ProspectRunDetails,
   features: ProspectFeatures,
 ): SnowplowProspect => {
   return {
     object_version: 'new',
     prospect_id: prospect.prospectId,
-    prospect_source: prospectSource,
+    prospect_source: prospect.prospectType,
     scheduled_surface_id: prospect.scheduledSurfaceGuid,
     url: prospect.url,
     title: prospect.title,
diff --git a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/index.integration.ts b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/index.integration.ts
index 99731b50..2364b738 100644
--- a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/index.integration.ts
+++ b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/index.integration.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { setupServer } from 'msw/node';
 import { Callback, Context } from 'aws-lambda';
+import * as Sentry from '@sentry/serverless';
 
 import config from './config';
 
@@ -19,6 +20,8 @@ import {
  */
 describe('prospect api translation lambda entry function', () => {
   const server = setupServer();
+  const captureConsoleSpy = jest.spyOn(console, 'log').mockImplementation();
+  const sentrySpy = jest.spyOn(Sentry, 'captureException').mockImplementation();
 
   beforeAll(() => server.listen({ onUnhandledRequest: 'bypass' }));
 
@@ -28,12 +31,14 @@ describe('prospect api translation lambda entry function', () => {
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
-    // restoreAllMocks restores all mocks and replaced properties. clearAllMocks only clears mocks.
-    jest.restoreAllMocks();
+    // clear all mock history
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
     server.resetHandlers();
   });
 
   afterAll(() => {
+    // restore all mocks and replaced properties/methods
+    jest.restoreAllMocks();
     server.close();
   });
 
@@ -81,6 +86,7 @@ describe('prospect api translation lambda entry function', () => {
 
     // Check that the right Snowplow entity was included with the event.
     const goodEvents = await getGoodSnowplowEvents();
+
     for (let i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
       const snowplowContext = parseSnowplowData(
         goodEvents[i].rawEvent.parameters.cx,
@@ -119,8 +125,6 @@ describe('prospect api translation lambda entry function', () => {
       ],
     };
 
-    const captureConsoleSpy = jest.spyOn(console, 'log').mockImplementation();
-
     await processor(fakePayload, sqsContext, sqsCallback);
 
     expect(captureConsoleSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
@@ -152,8 +156,6 @@ describe('prospect api translation lambda entry function', () => {
       ],
     };
 
-    const captureConsoleSpy = jest.spyOn(console, 'log').mockImplementation();
-
     await processor(fakePayload, sqsContext, sqsCallback);
 
     expect(captureConsoleSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
@@ -162,4 +164,78 @@ describe('prospect api translation lambda entry function', () => {
 
     expect(captureConsoleSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(`1 prospects had errors.`);
   });
+
+  it('accepts prospects with ML-supplied URL metadata', async () => {
+    const fakePayload = {
+      Records: [
+        {
+          messageId: '1',
+          receiptHandle: 'handle',
+          attributes: {
+            ApproximateReceiveCount: '1',
+            SentTimestamp: 'time',
+            SenderId: 'sender id',
+            ApproximateFirstReceiveTimestamp: 'time',
+          },
+          messageAttributes: {},
+          md5OfMessageAttributes: null,
+          md5OfBody: 'ab6181399b03008ffaada54b68c77574',
+          eventSource: 'aws:sqs',
+          eventSourceARN:
+            'arn:aws:sqs:us-east-1:996905175585:ProspectAPI-Prod-Sqs-Translation-Queue',
+          awsRegion: 'us-east-1',
+          body: '{"version":"0","id":"ab02d85b-4cb6-9de9-b549-b572166b278f","detail-type":"prospect-generation","source":"prospect-events","account":"996905175585","time":"2024-04-16T00:05:59Z","region":"us-east-1","resources":[],"detail":{"id":"c71504d1-f14f-4181-a654-730d5855ec48","version":3,"candidates":[{"scheduled_surface_guid": "NEW_TAB_DE_DE", "prospect_id": "447c90d2-1084-5f83-a585-26edfbf5640e", "url": "https://www.spektrum.de/news/ninetyeast-ridge-eines-der-laengsten-gebirge-liegt-tief-unter-dem-meer/2246024", "prospect_source": "QA_SPORTS", "save_count": 0, "predicted_topic": "", "rank": 117, "data_source": "prospect", "title": "Eines der l\u00e4ngsten Gebirge liegt tief unter dem Meer", "excerpt": "Die Bergkette wurde durch ein seltenes vulkanisches Ph\u00e4nomen gebildet", "language": "EN", "image_url": "https://static.spektrum.de/fm/912/f1920x1080/triplejunction_gis_2014_lrg.8200272.png", "authors": ["Daniel Lingenh\u00f6hl"]},{"scheduled_surface_guid": "NEW_TAB_DE_DE", "prospect_id": "faa0631f-3a43-555a-9947-7ce3de165a92", "url": "https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/wahlen-in-thailand-wie-eine-kandidatin-fuer-ein-demokratischeres-thailand-kaempft-a-1fa52682-ca7a-45f9-816a-a031ca0a7950", "prospect_source": "QA_SPORTS", "save_count": 10, "predicted_topic": "POLITICS", "rank": 118, "data_source": "prospect", "title": "Parlamentswahlen in Thailand Frau Thamnitinans Kampf gegen die Putschisten", "excerpt": "Sie vertritt als Anwältin Regimegegner. Nun will Sasinan Thamnitinan sich im Parlament für mehr Demokratie in Thailand einsetzen. Unterwegs im ersten Wahlkampf nach den landesweiten Massenprotesten gegen das Militär.", "language": "DE", "image_url": "https://cdn.prod.www.spiegel.de/images/06720642-d6e0-42ed-a1e1-1ded9f79d1bd_w1280_r1.77_fpx68_fpy93.jpg", "authors": ["Maria Stöhr, DER SPIEGEL"]}]}}',
+        },
+      ],
+    };
+
+    await processor(fakePayload, sqsContext, sqsCallback);
+
+    expect(sentrySpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(0);
+
+    expect(captureConsoleSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      `2 prospects inserted into dynamo.`,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('should send errors to Sentry when ML-supplied URL metadata is invalid', async () => {
+    // this payload has three errors in the second/last prospect:
+    // - missing image_url
+    // - number given for authors
+    // - invalid language code
+    const fakePayload = {
+      Records: [
+        {
+          messageId: '1',
+          receiptHandle: 'handle',
+          attributes: {
+            ApproximateReceiveCount: '1',
+            SentTimestamp: 'time',
+            SenderId: 'sender id',
+            ApproximateFirstReceiveTimestamp: 'time',
+          },
+          messageAttributes: {},
+          md5OfMessageAttributes: null,
+          md5OfBody: 'ab6181399b03008ffaada54b68c77574',
+          eventSource: 'aws:sqs',
+          eventSourceARN:
+            'arn:aws:sqs:us-east-1:996905175585:ProspectAPI-Prod-Sqs-Translation-Queue',
+          awsRegion: 'us-east-1',
+          body: '{"version":"0","id":"ab02d85b-4cb6-9de9-b549-b572166b278f","detail-type":"prospect-generation","source":"prospect-events","account":"996905175585","time":"2024-04-16T00:05:59Z","region":"us-east-1","resources":[],"detail":{"id":"c71504d1-f14f-4181-a654-730d5855ec48","version":3,"candidates":[{"scheduled_surface_guid": "NEW_TAB_DE_DE", "prospect_id": "447c90d2-1084-5f83-a585-26edfbf5640e", "url": "https://www.spektrum.de/news/ninetyeast-ridge-eines-der-laengsten-gebirge-liegt-tief-unter-dem-meer/2246024", "prospect_source": "QA_ENTERTAINMENT", "save_count": 0, "predicted_topic": "", "rank": 117, "data_source": "prospect", "title": "Eines der l\u00e4ngsten Gebirge liegt tief unter dem Meer", "excerpt": "Die Bergkette wurde durch ein seltenes vulkanisches Ph\u00e4nomen gebildet", "language": "EN", "image_url": "https://static.spektrum.de/fm/912/f1920x1080/triplejunction_gis_2014_lrg.8200272.png", "authors": ["Daniel Lingenh\u00f6hl"]},{"scheduled_surface_guid": "NEW_TAB_DE_DE", "prospect_id": "faa0631f-3a43-555a-9947-7ce3de165a92", "url": "https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/wahlen-in-thailand-wie-eine-kandidatin-fuer-ein-demokratischeres-thailand-kaempft-a-1fa52682-ca7a-45f9-816a-a031ca0a7950", "prospect_source": "QA_ENTERTAINMENT", "save_count": 10, "predicted_topic": "POLITICS", "rank": 118, "data_source": "prospect", "title": 16, "excerpt": "Sie vertritt als Anwältin Regimegegner. Nun will Sasinan Thamnitinan sich im Parlament für mehr Demokratie in Thailand einsetzen. Unterwegs im ersten Wahlkampf nach den landesweiten Massenprotesten gegen das Militär.", "language": "BB", "authors": 42}]}}',
+        },
+      ],
+    };
+
+    await processor(fakePayload, sqsContext, sqsCallback);
+
+    // authors, image_url, and language are invalid in the test payload above
+    // - all should have triggered a Sentry call
+    expect(sentrySpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+
+    // the errors in ML-supplied URL metadata should *not* stop the prospects
+    // from being inserted!
+    expect(captureConsoleSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      `2 prospects inserted into dynamo.`,
+    );
+  });
 });
diff --git a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/index.ts b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/index.ts
index 07eb08eb..d2c4b09e 100644
--- a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/index.ts
+++ b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/index.ts
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ export const processor: SQSHandler = async (event: SQSEvent): Promise<void> => {
   console.log('raw event:');
   console.log(event);
 
+  let prospectIdProcessed: string;
   let prospectIdsProcessed: string[] = [];
 
   // make sure the event payload is JSON-parseable and of SQS shape
@@ -110,14 +111,18 @@ export const processor: SQSHandler = async (event: SQSEvent): Promise<void> => {
         // now get the metadata and put it into dynamo
         // this function will send an exception to sentry if any part of it
         // fails.
-        prospectIdsProcessed = await processProspect(
-          prospect,
-          prospectIdsProcessed,
-          rawSqsProspect.prospect_source,
-          runDetails,
-          features,
-          tracker,
-        );
+        await processProspect(prospect, runDetails, features, tracker);
+
+        // an edge case we've hit before - ML was sending duplicate prospects in a
+        // single batch. we don't need to error here - dynamo will silently replace
+        // the existing entry. logging seems like the best approach for now.
+        if (prospectIdsProcessed.includes(prospect.id)) {
+          console.log(
+            `${prospect.id} is a duplicate in this ${prospect.scheduledSurfaceGuid} / ${prospect.prospectType} batch!`,
+          );
+        }
+
+        prospectIdsProcessed.push(prospect.id);
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/lib.spec.ts b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/lib.spec.ts
index f9ab96e3..9083a0b3 100644
--- a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/lib.spec.ts
+++ b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/lib.spec.ts
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import {
   validateProperties,
   validateStructure,
 } from './lib';
+import { SqsProspect, ProspectTypesWithMlUrlMetadata } from './types';
 
 describe('lib', () => {
   const captureExceptionSpy = jest
@@ -61,7 +62,7 @@ describe('lib', () => {
       title: 'Test-Title',
       publisher: 'test-publisher',
       isCollection: false,
-      isSyndicated: true,
+      isSyndicated: false,
       authors: 'questlove,rafael frumkin',
     };
 
@@ -317,6 +318,120 @@ describe('lib', () => {
       expect(result.topic).toEqual(expected.topic);
       expect(result.saveCount).toEqual(expected.saveCount);
     });
+
+    it('should create a prospect from an SqsProspect with ML-supplied metadata', () => {
+      const validSqsProspectWithMlData: SqsProspect = {
+        ...validSqsProspect,
+        // pick any prospect type that has ML-supplied metadata
+        prospect_source: ProspectTypesWithMlUrlMetadata[0],
+        authors: ['Daniel Lingenh\u00f6hl'],
+        excerpt:
+          'Die Bergkette wurde durch ein seltenes vulkanisches Ph\u00e4nomen gebildet',
+        image_url:
+          'https://static.spektrum.de/fm/912/f1920x1080/triplejunction_gis_2014_lrg.8200272.png',
+        language: 'EN',
+        title: 'Eines der l\u00e4ngsten Gebirge liegt tief unter dem Meer',
+      };
+
+      const expected: Prospect = {
+        id: 'c3h5n3o9',
+        prospectId: validSqsProspectWithMlData.prospect_id,
+        scheduledSurfaceGuid: validSqsProspectWithMlData.scheduled_surface_guid,
+        url: validSqsProspectWithMlData.url,
+        prospectType: ProspectType[validSqsProspectWithMlData.prospect_source],
+        topic: Topics[validSqsProspectWithMlData.predicted_topic],
+        saveCount: validSqsProspectWithMlData.save_count,
+        rank: validSqsProspectWithMlData.rank,
+        authors: 'Daniel Lingenh\u00f6hl',
+        excerpt:
+          'Die Bergkette wurde durch ein seltenes vulkanisches Ph\u00e4nomen gebildet',
+        imageUrl:
+          'https://static.spektrum.de/fm/912/f1920x1080/triplejunction_gis_2014_lrg.8200272.png',
+        language: 'EN',
+        title: 'Eines der l\u00e4ngsten Gebirge liegt tief unter dem Meer',
+      };
+
+      const result = convertSqsProspectToProspect(validSqsProspectWithMlData);
+
+      expect(result.id).toBeDefined(); // we trust uuidV4 to work
+      expect(result.prospectId).toEqual(expected.prospectId);
+      expect(result.scheduledSurfaceGuid).toEqual(
+        expected.scheduledSurfaceGuid,
+      );
+      expect(result.url).toEqual(expected.url);
+      expect(result.prospectType).toEqual(expected.prospectType);
+      expect(result.topic).toEqual(expected.topic);
+      expect(result.saveCount).toEqual(expected.saveCount);
+      expect(result.authors).toEqual(expected.authors);
+      expect(result.excerpt).toEqual(expected.excerpt);
+      expect(result.imageUrl).toEqual(expected.imageUrl);
+      expect(result.language).toEqual(expected.language);
+      expect(result.title).toEqual(expected.title);
+    });
+
+    it.only('should emit Sentry errors when ML-supplied URL metadata is invalid', () => {
+      const validSqsProspectWithMlData: any = {
+        ...validSqsProspect,
+        // pick any prospect type that has ML-supplied metadata
+        prospect_source: ProspectTypesWithMlUrlMetadata[0],
+        // invalid - should get thrown out
+        authors: 42,
+        excerpt:
+          'Die Bergkette wurde durch ein seltenes vulkanisches Ph\u00e4nomen gebildet',
+        // invalid - should get thrown out
+        language: 'BB',
+        // should get converted to a string
+        title: 16,
+      };
+
+      const expected: Prospect = {
+        id: 'c3h5n3o9',
+        prospectId: validSqsProspectWithMlData.prospect_id,
+        scheduledSurfaceGuid: validSqsProspectWithMlData.scheduled_surface_guid,
+        url: validSqsProspectWithMlData.url,
+        prospectType: ProspectType[validSqsProspectWithMlData.prospect_source],
+        topic: Topics[validSqsProspectWithMlData.predicted_topic],
+        saveCount: validSqsProspectWithMlData.save_count,
+        rank: validSqsProspectWithMlData.rank,
+        excerpt:
+          'Die Bergkette wurde durch ein seltenes vulkanisches Ph\u00e4nomen gebildet',
+        title: '16',
+      };
+
+      const result = convertSqsProspectToProspect(validSqsProspectWithMlData);
+
+      expect(result.id).toBeDefined(); // we trust uuidV4 to work
+      expect(result.prospectId).toEqual(expected.prospectId);
+      expect(result.scheduledSurfaceGuid).toEqual(
+        expected.scheduledSurfaceGuid,
+      );
+      expect(result.url).toEqual(expected.url);
+      expect(result.prospectType).toEqual(expected.prospectType);
+      expect(result.topic).toEqual(expected.topic);
+      expect(result.saveCount).toEqual(expected.saveCount);
+      expect(result.authors).toEqual(undefined);
+      expect(result.excerpt).toEqual(expected.excerpt);
+      expect(result.imageUrl).toEqual(undefined);
+      expect(result.language).toEqual(undefined);
+      expect(result.title).toEqual(expected.title);
+
+      expect(captureExceptionSpy).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+
+      expect(captureExceptionSpy).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
+        1,
+        `Invalid ML supplied value for 'authors': 42`,
+      );
+
+      expect(captureExceptionSpy).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
+        2,
+        `Invalid ML supplied value for 'image_url': undefined`,
+      );
+
+      expect(captureExceptionSpy).toHaveBeenNthCalledWith(
+        3,
+        `Invalid ML supplied value for 'language': BB`,
+      );
+    });
   });
 
   describe('hydrateProspectMetaData', () => {
@@ -388,8 +503,8 @@ describe('lib', () => {
         language: undefined,
         title: undefined,
         publisher: undefined,
-        isCollection: undefined,
-        isSyndicated: undefined,
+        isCollection: false,
+        isSyndicated: false,
         authors: undefined,
       };
 
diff --git a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/lib.ts b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/lib.ts
index 616af1e4..30c2263c 100644
--- a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/lib.ts
+++ b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/lib.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';
 
 import {
   dbClient,
+  deriveDomainName,
   deriveUrlMetadata,
   insertProspect,
   Prospect,
@@ -22,7 +23,7 @@ import {
   UrlMetadata,
 } from 'content-common';
 
-import { SqsProspect } from './types';
+import { SqsProspect, ProspectTypesWithMlUrlMetadata } from './types';
 import { generateSnowplowEntity, queueSnowplowEvent } from './events/snowplow';
 import { Tracker } from '@snowplow/node-tracker';
 
@@ -128,38 +129,36 @@ export const getProspectRunDetailsFromMessageJson = (
   }
 };
 
+/**
+ * retrieves URL metadata from the Parser to hydrate the prospect.
+ * inserts the prospect into dynamo and sends snowplow event.
+ *
+ * @param prospect a Prospect object with partially hydrated data
+ * @param runDetails the ML run details, sent to snowplow
+ * @param features the ML prospect features, sent to snowplow
+ * @param tracker the snowplow Tracker
+ * @returns Promise<void>
+ */
 export const processProspect = async (
   prospect: Prospect,
-  idsProcessed: string[],
-  prospectSource: string,
   runDetails: ProspectRunDetails,
   features: ProspectFeatures,
   tracker: Tracker,
-): Promise<string[]> => {
+): Promise<void> => {
+  // get URL metadata from the Parser
   const urlMetadata = await deriveUrlMetadata(prospect.url);
 
+  // hydrate necessary URL metadata
   prospect = hydrateProspectMetadata(prospect, urlMetadata);
 
+  // insert the prospect into dynamodb
   await insertProspect(dbClient, prospect);
 
-  // an edge case we've hit before - ML was sending duplicate prospects in a
-  // single batch. we don't need to error here - dynamo will silently replace
-  // the existing entry. logging seems like the best approach for now.
-  if (idsProcessed.includes(prospect.id)) {
-    console.log(
-      `${prospect.id} is a duplicate in this ${prospect.scheduledSurfaceGuid} / ${prospect.prospectType} batch!`,
-    );
-  }
-
-  idsProcessed.push(prospect.id);
-
   // Finally, Send a Snowplow event after the prospect got successfully created in dynamo.
   queueSnowplowEvent(
     tracker,
-    generateSnowplowEntity(prospect, prospectSource, runDetails, features),
+    generateSnowplowEntity(prospect, runDetails, features),
   );
-
-  return idsProcessed;
 };
 
 /**
@@ -363,10 +362,17 @@ export const validateProperties = (sqsProspect: SqsProspect): boolean => {
   }
 };
 
+/**
+ * takes a raw prospect from SQS and converts it to a Prospect object as
+ * expecte by DynamoDB
+ *
+ * @param sqsProspect raw prospect object from SQS
+ * @returns Prospect object
+ */
 export const convertSqsProspectToProspect = (
   sqsProspect: SqsProspect,
 ): Prospect => {
-  return {
+  let prospect: Prospect = {
     id: uuidv4(),
     prospectId: sqsProspect.prospect_id,
     // make sure this matches our ALL CAPS guid value
@@ -377,6 +383,59 @@ export const convertSqsProspectToProspect = (
     saveCount: sqsProspect.save_count,
     rank: sqsProspect.rank,
   };
+
+  // 2024-12-12
+  // some prospects will have ML-supplied URL metadata. this is currently
+  // experimental to validate metadata from ML, so we want to capture any
+  // issues in Sentry, but not block processing to ensure editors see the
+  // missing pieces of data.
+  if (ProspectTypesWithMlUrlMetadata.includes(prospect.prospectType)) {
+    try {
+      prospect.authors = sqsProspect.authors.join(',');
+    } catch {
+      Sentry.captureException(
+        `Invalid ML supplied value for 'authors': ${sqsProspect.authors}`,
+      );
+    }
+
+    try {
+      prospect.excerpt = sqsProspect.excerpt.toString();
+    } catch {
+      Sentry.captureException(
+        `Invalid ML supplied value for 'excerpt': ${sqsProspect.excerpt}`,
+      );
+    }
+
+    try {
+      prospect.imageUrl = sqsProspect.image_url.toString();
+    } catch {
+      Sentry.captureException(
+        `Invalid ML supplied value for 'image_url': ${sqsProspect.image_url}`,
+      );
+    }
+
+    try {
+      prospect.title = sqsProspect.title.toString();
+    } catch {
+      Sentry.captureException(
+        `Invalid ML supplied value for 'title': ${sqsProspect.title}`,
+      );
+    }
+
+    // language must map to our enum - if it doesn't, skip setting this property
+    if (
+      sqsProspect.language &&
+      sqsProspect.language.toUpperCase() in CorpusLanguage
+    ) {
+      prospect.language = sqsProspect.language.toUpperCase();
+    } else {
+      Sentry.captureException(
+        `Invalid ML supplied value for 'language': ${sqsProspect.language}`,
+      );
+    }
+  }
+
+  return prospect;
 };
 
 /**
@@ -390,38 +449,43 @@ export const hydrateProspectMetadata = (
   prospect: Prospect,
   urlMetadata: UrlMetadata,
 ): Prospect => {
-  // title and excerpt have different formatting based on prospect language
-  let title: string;
-  let excerpt: string;
-
-  if (urlMetadata.language?.toUpperCase() === CorpusLanguage.EN) {
-    title = formatQuotesEN(applyApTitleCase(urlMetadata.title)) as string;
-    excerpt = formatQuotesEN(urlMetadata.excerpt) as string;
-  } else if (urlMetadata.language?.toUpperCase() === CorpusLanguage.DE) {
-    title = formatQuotesDashesDE(urlMetadata.title) as string;
-    excerpt = formatQuotesDashesDE(urlMetadata.excerpt) as string;
-  } else {
-    title = urlMetadata.title;
-    excerpt = urlMetadata.excerpt;
-  }
+  // while we are moving towards ML-supplied metadata, the Parser must still
+  // give us the publisher name.
+  // (from the legacy MySQL `readitla_b.domain_business_metadata` table)
+  prospect.publisher = urlMetadata.publisher;
 
-  // Mutating the function argument here to avoid creating
-  // more objects and be memory efficient
+  // ML is no longer sending syndicated/collections as prospects
+  prospect.isCollection = false;
+  prospect.isSyndicated = false;
 
-  // While the the urlMetaData and prospect fields match currently,
-  // they're not guaranteed to be the same in the future hence we're
-  // directly assigning them
+  if (ProspectTypesWithMlUrlMetadata.includes(prospect.prospectType)) {
+    // URL metadata was supplied by ML and assigned in
+    // `convertSqsProspectToProspect` above. we specifically do *not* want to
+    // fall-back to Parser metadata in this scenario, as we want to know if
+    // any data is missing from ML.
 
-  // NOTE: individual url metadata fields might be undefined
-  prospect.domain = urlMetadata.domain;
-  prospect.excerpt = excerpt;
-  prospect.imageUrl = urlMetadata.imageUrl;
-  prospect.isCollection = urlMetadata.isCollection;
-  prospect.isSyndicated = urlMetadata.isSyndicated;
-  prospect.language = urlMetadata.language;
-  prospect.publisher = urlMetadata.publisher;
-  prospect.title = title;
-  prospect.authors = urlMetadata.authors;
+    // `deriveDomainName` is the same method used under the hood in
+    // `deriveUrlMetadata` - calling directly here to clarify no Parser use.
+    prospect.domain = deriveDomainName(prospect.url);
+  } else {
+    // URL metadata *not* supplied by ML, so use the Parser
+    // NOTE: urlMetadata fields might be undefined/empty
+    prospect.authors = urlMetadata.authors;
+    prospect.domain = urlMetadata.domain;
+    prospect.excerpt = urlMetadata.excerpt;
+    prospect.imageUrl = urlMetadata.imageUrl;
+    prospect.language = urlMetadata.language;
+    prospect.title = urlMetadata.title;
+  }
+
+  // apply title/excerpt formatting for EN & DE
+  if (prospect.language?.toUpperCase() === CorpusLanguage.EN) {
+    prospect.title = formatQuotesEN(applyApTitleCase(prospect.title)) as string;
+    prospect.excerpt = formatQuotesEN(prospect.excerpt) as string;
+  } else if (prospect.language?.toUpperCase() === CorpusLanguage.DE) {
+    prospect.title = formatQuotesDashesDE(prospect.title) as string;
+    prospect.excerpt = formatQuotesDashesDE(prospect.excerpt) as string;
+  }
 
   return prospect;
 };
diff --git a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/types.ts b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/types.ts
index 7df3a360..9b7d0f69 100644
--- a/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/types.ts
+++ b/lambdas/prospect-translation-lambda/src/types.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,34 @@
+import { CorpusLanguage, ProspectType } from 'content-common';
+
 // this is the raw data from metaflow/sqs
 export interface SqsProspect {
-  prospect_id: string;
-  scheduled_surface_guid: string;
+  data_source?: string;
   predicted_topic: string;
+  prospect_id: string;
   prospect_source: string;
-  data_source?: string;
-  url: string;
-  save_count: number;
   rank: number;
+  save_count: number;
+  scheduled_surface_guid: string;
+  url: string;
+  // 2024-12-12
+  // some ML prospects will contain URL metadata to be used instead of Parser
+  // metadata. this is currently experimental, so all properties below are
+  // optional.
+  authors?: string[];
+  excerpt?: string;
+  image_url?: string;
+  language?: CorpusLanguage;
+  title?: string;
 }
+
+// 2024-12-12
+// noting which prospect types will have ML-supplied URL metadata. this is
+// likely a temporary array, as we should move to a consistent URL metadata
+// source for all prospect types.
+export const ProspectTypesWithMlUrlMetadata: ProspectType[] = [
+  ProspectType.QA_ENTERTAINMENT,
+  ProspectType.QA_GAMING,
+  ProspectType.QA_HISTORY,
+  ProspectType.QA_RELATIONSHIPS,
+  ProspectType.QA_SPORTS,
+];
diff --git a/packages/prospectapi-common/src/index.ts b/packages/prospectapi-common/src/index.ts
index 3d90d3f9..6b99b244 100644
--- a/packages/prospectapi-common/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/prospectapi-common/src/index.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 export { DynamoItem, GetProspectsFilters, Prospect } from './types';
 export { ScheduledSurfaces, ScheduledSurface } from 'content-common';
-export { toUnixTimestamp, deriveUrlMetadata } from './lib';
+export { toUnixTimestamp, deriveDomainName, deriveUrlMetadata } from './lib';
 export {
   scanAllRows,
   generateInsertParams,