Tony,
Thank you for clarifying this further. So we understand the issue is not the fact that the banner is appearing, but that the banner flickers or flashes while scrolling through the article. Got it.
Is your MacBook Pro running the latest macOS? You can check this under the Apple logo (top-left corner) > About This Mac > Software Update. If there are any updates pending, it would be a good idea to update since the issue is isolated to the Apple News application, which is built-in to macOS: Update macOS on Mac
If you're already using the latest macOS, or you cannot update macOS for specific reasons, we can continue with the steps below.
Let's have you boot up into safe mode. It’s a way to start up your Mac so it performs certain checks, repairs, emptying of system cache, and prevents some software from automatically loading: How to use safe mode on your Mac. Once in safe mode, check to see if the same behavior continues when using Apple News+ and opening those articles. Sometimes safe mode can successfully resolve some issues. With this being said, after testing in safe mode, restart and log in as normal to test the issue once more, to see if that helps resolve the issue. As an FYI, it is normal for your Mac to start up slower than expected while booting into safe mode.
If the issue remains, we will have you test a new user account next, to isolate if this is a user-specific issue, or a system-wide issue. Here’s how: Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac
Keep us posted, if you need continued support.
Thank you!