Module development and code questions

What is the status of Node moderation module for 4.7. It is listed in the 4.7 modules but the promotion feature does not seem to work. Anyone have any word on the latest development on it (and I mean the very latest - am pretty sure I've been through everything that's been documented so far)

Thanks...

I have a problem using my Drupal CMS.

I activated Search block, but no-one but me can see and use Search form. This is wrong and I would like that everybody can use Search form. Please help!

I have a modified story module for which I have a block that displays the three most recent story titles in reverse chronological order. How can I also show the first n charecters of the most recent story and the first n/2 of the 2nd and 3rd most recent in this block? I haven't been able to find much for this with the CCK or anything similar...am I just missing something?
thanks

So I've been working with Drupal for all of three days and love what it can do, but that doesn't mean I have not had some problems with it. My big question is, is there a way I can extend the content fields for a module. I have succesfully edited and/or created my own modules, but I am always limited to the fields that were in the module before I edited. I can not figure out how to 1) create new fields 2) store the content of these fields to the database or 3) retrieve them for display. Is there anything out there on this subject or any tips?
Thanks.

I have installed gsitemap in my site (clean url enabled, and gisaid.com/* redirected to www.gisaid.com/* in .htaccess) and the sitemap is accessible at www.gisaid.com/gsitemap. I have also submitted this link to google but it is not working.

I'm writing a Java File Upload Applet that will (eventually, and hopefully) interface with a Drupal module. The question is, how do I pass Drupal session and user information to the PHP script that talks to the applet? Where is this information stored (in Cookies)? This is important because I need to check user permissions and security with an upload.