Grammar
Often a news article provides good examples of grammar - for example the past perfect. In this case, asking students to put particular events in chronological order leads to further work on this verb form.
Sentence structure/style
Draw students attention to well-crafted sentences, or ask them to find sentences that they think are good or interesting examples.
Follow up
There are lots of opportunities to extend the work done on the article, and to use a different skill such as speaking or writing. This gives students a chance to use the language they have learnt from the text.