News items (distinct from pages and event items) are articles that automatically appear in the News Portlet, which is visible in the right-hand column whenever news is published. News items are also unique in that they allow you to include a cover image that follows the news item wherever it goes.
Events are announcements (distinct from News items) that are easily accessible from the Events Portlet, which automatically appears in the third, right-hand column whenever events are published.
Your site has a built-in calendar for viewing published events. It's available to all visitors as long as the 'Events' folder is published, and it allows users to download events in iCal format, for import into programs like Microsoft Outlook. If you're a site owner or manager, you can even add and edit events directly on the calendar by left or right clicking dates and time slots!
