If you know the publication date, add it in day-month-year format (such as 12 Jan. 2019), followed by a comma. If you don't know the publication date, skip this step. Add the Website URL ...

You can use HTML elements to format text in various ways; for example: Bold text using <b>. Indicate strong importance, ... Google has never confirmed or denied HTML formatting as a ranking factor.

Apple has sent out emails today to Apple News Publishers letting them know that they can now use HTML text formatting to more easily translate their web content into the Apple News Format.