public static function handleRequest()
    {
        // save static class
        static::$calledClass = get_called_class();

        // handle JSON requests
        if (static::peekPath() == 'json') {
            // check access for API response modes
            static::$responseMode = static::shiftPath();
            if (in_array(static::$responseMode, ['json','jsonp'])) {
                if (!static::checkAPIAccess()) {
                    return static::throwAPIUnAuthorizedError();
                }
            }
        }

        return static::handleRecordsRequest();
    }