sel.click("xpath=//*[@id='seriesNwsHldr']/div[2]/p[1]/a") is not working
It looks like a problem of timing. May be you can intentionally add wait time till the element appears on the page. 
Another possibility is that element which you are trying to interact is hidden. 
Would be great if you can post errors you are getting when you test fails.
Exception: ERROR: Element xpath=//*[@id='seriesNwsHldr']/div[2]/p[1]/a not found.

I checked in Fierbug. The path is correct but I don't know what's the reason for this test case to fail.