[PhilJ]

Hi Jim, the news option is to either..

(checked) Display latest news on the homepage only
OR
(unchecked) Display latest news in the side menu always

As for the Wordpress addon, technically you can use any WP theme you want, but a responsive theme is recommended, plus one that is not going to clash with the existing CSS code.

You'll just have to experiment and find one that suits your taste... There's tons of free themes out there.