Hi,
Not sure if I should report this in trac or not. Seems this function uses a specific "Zenpage" theme option variable - zenpage_zp_index_news. So when not using the "ZenPage" theme, this theme option still takes effect in the function. If you have this checked, but your custom theme does not utilize this variable, the News link points to the front index page, when it should be pointed at news.php. Hope this makes sense....
The option is named "news on index" on hte Zenpage theme option and since it refers to Zenpage core functionality (the news loop) it is not a theme function.
The only purpose of this function is to make the news.php page news page 2 so you can have page 1 on the index page.
If you want to use this you can (re)set this option like any other one on the theme directly by using setOption().
OK - no big deal it just threw me for a loop for awhile as I could not figure out why the news link on my custom theme kept going to the front page. After I unchecked the option in the "Zenpage" theme, it worked as expected. Just find it strange that a theme option will affect a core function in another theme. Thanks -