Latest News: Are only displayed on homepage if created in content/news/.

themes/briar/layouts/_default/list.html

 {{ define "main" }}
 <h2>{{ with .Title }} {{ . }} {{ else }} {{ .Site.Title }} {{ end }}</h2>
 <p><strong>Latest News:</strong>
-{{ range first 1 .Pages.ByDate.Reverse }}
+{{ range first 1 (where .Pages "Section" "news").ByDate.Reverse }}
  <a href="{{.Permalink}}">{{.Title}}</a>
 </p>
 {{ end }}