Editors' Guide: Publish
When you create a story in the CMS, it is hidden from the public.
To make it public (to publish it), go to the "Options" tab. Change the status from "Closed" to "Open"
Also on this page, you can turn off comments and make the story appear first on the front page ("Make Entry Sticky"). This latter option takes the entry out of the normal flow of newest-stories-on-top and keeps it at the top of the front page headline list, regardless of whether newer (non sticky) stories are published.