That's not for me to answer, but for Apple I guess. Maybe someone who works there can shine a light on this. Speculation about the URL bit would probably center on Apple tending to put form over function. Promoting Apple News -> because it cost them a lot of money to get it in the first place and they are trying to recoup that money. Not that I would ever even look at it, I don't think a hardware manufacturer is the best place to get my news fix.

The URL hiding thing is probably because it looks pretty and they think it reduces phishing.