>I don't think it was always called headlines.

Yes it always has been.

>It should also be timely. The link to my blog was put on the UT home page several days after I blogged the topic.

It is not usual for it to take a few days for news to be generated and written up. Click on any news item on the UT, generally the UT date is 1 day behind the posted date of the story or blog. The story or blog will be about an event that happened in the previous few days.