diff --git a/tradingagents/agents/utils/memory.py b/tradingagents/agents/utils/memory.py
index 69b8ab8c..d5788721 100644
--- a/tradingagents/agents/utils/memory.py
+++ b/tradingagents/agents/utils/memory.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ class FinancialSituationMemory:
             self.embedding = "nomic-embed-text"
         else:
             self.embedding = "text-embedding-3-small"
-        self.client = OpenAI(base_url=config["backend_url"])
+        self.client = OpenAI()
         self.chroma_client = chromadb.Client(Settings(allow_reset=True))
         self.situation_collection = self.chroma_client.create_collection(name=name)
 
diff --git a/tradingagents/dataflows/config.py b/tradingagents/dataflows/config.py
index b8a8f8aa..908832b0 100644
--- a/tradingagents/dataflows/config.py
+++ b/tradingagents/dataflows/config.py
@@ -1,17 +1,42 @@
 import tradingagents.default_config as default_config
 from typing import Dict, Optional
+import os
 
 # Use default config but allow it to be overridden
 _config: Optional[Dict] = None
 DATA_DIR: Optional[str] = None
 
 
+def validate_api_keys(config: Dict) -> None:
+    """Validate that required API keys are present based on LLM provider."""
+    llm_provider = config.get("llm_provider", "openai").lower()
+    
+    # Always require OpenAI API key since many functions use it
+    if not config.get("OPENAI_API_KEY"):
+        raise ValueError(
+            "OPENAI_API_KEY is required in environment variables. "
+            "Many functions and tools require OpenAI API access."
+        )
+    
+    # Provider-specific validations
+    if llm_provider == "openai":
+        if not config.get("OPENAI_API_KEY"):
+            raise ValueError("OPENAI_API_KEY is required for OpenAI provider")
+    # elif llm_provider == "anthropic":
+    #     if not config.get("anthropic_api_key"):
+    #         raise ValueError("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is required for Anthropic provider")
+    elif llm_provider == "google":
+        if not config.get("GOOGLE_API_KEY"):
+            raise ValueError("GOOGLE_API_KEY is required for Google provider")
+
+
 def initialize_config():
     """Initialize the configuration with default values."""
     global _config, DATA_DIR
     if _config is None:
         _config = default_config.DEFAULT_CONFIG.copy()
         DATA_DIR = _config["data_dir"]
+        validate_api_keys(_config)
 
 
 def set_config(config: Dict):
@@ -21,6 +46,7 @@ def set_config(config: Dict):
         _config = default_config.DEFAULT_CONFIG.copy()
     _config.update(config)
     DATA_DIR = _config["data_dir"]
+    validate_api_keys(_config)
 
 
 def get_config() -> Dict:
diff --git a/tradingagents/dataflows/interface.py b/tradingagents/dataflows/interface.py
index 7fffbb4f..8f798b0a 100644
--- a/tradingagents/dataflows/interface.py
+++ b/tradingagents/dataflows/interface.py
@@ -704,10 +704,11 @@ def get_YFin_data(
 
 def get_stock_news_openai(ticker, curr_date):
     config = get_config()
-    client = OpenAI(base_url=config["backend_url"])
+    client = OpenAI(api_key=config["OPENAI_API_KEY"])
+    
 
     response = client.responses.create(
-        model=config["quick_think_llm"],
+        model= 'gpt-4o-mini', # TODO: change to config["quick_think_llm"],
         input=[
             {
                 "role": "system",
@@ -739,10 +740,10 @@ def get_stock_news_openai(ticker, curr_date):
 
 def get_global_news_openai(curr_date):
     config = get_config()
-    client = OpenAI(base_url=config["backend_url"])
+    client = OpenAI()
 
     response = client.responses.create(
-        model=config["quick_think_llm"],
+        model= 'gpt-4o-mini', # TODO: change to config["quick_think_llm"],
         input=[
             {
                 "role": "system",
@@ -774,10 +775,10 @@ def get_global_news_openai(curr_date):
 
 def get_fundamentals_openai(ticker, curr_date):
     config = get_config()
-    client = OpenAI(base_url=config["backend_url"])
+    client = OpenAI()
 
     response = client.responses.create(
-        model=config["quick_think_llm"],
+        model= 'gpt-4o-mini', # TODO: change to config["quick_think_llm"],
         input=[
             {
                 "role": "system",
diff --git a/tradingagents/default_config.py b/tradingagents/default_config.py
index 089e9c24..def0263e 100644
--- a/tradingagents/default_config.py
+++ b/tradingagents/default_config.py
@@ -3,11 +3,16 @@ import os
 DEFAULT_CONFIG = {
     "project_dir": os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), ".")),
     "results_dir": os.getenv("TRADINGAGENTS_RESULTS_DIR", "./results"),
-    "data_dir": "/Users/yluo/Documents/Code/ScAI/FR1-data",
+    "data_dir": "/Users/yluo/Documents/Code/ScAI/FR1-data", # TODO: change to your own data directory
     "data_cache_dir": os.path.join(
         os.path.abspath(os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), ".")),
         "dataflows/data_cache",
     ),
+    # API Keys - load from environment variables
+    "OPENAI_API_KEY": os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY"),
+    "FINNHUB_API_KEY": os.getenv("FINNHUB_API_KEY"),
+    "GOOGLE_API_KEY": os.getenv("GOOGLE_API_KEY"),
+    "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": os.getenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"),
     # LLM settings
     "llm_provider": "openai",
     "deep_think_llm": "o4-mini",