[Mooff]

1- depends. Works via different layouts on different sections.
two options
a) you do not show articles on your homepage, only widgets. Then adding a subsection which shows the slider and telling vb in the acp to show that subsection instead of the main section will be enough.
b) you do show articles on your homepage, then create a hidding second section below your newssection with a different layout without slider. Move all categories* and articles to that second section. Set the homepage to 'show all articles from subsections.

2- activate cms rewrite in the vbseo command panel. There look for extended options (or similar, haven't checked how it is called exactly) and follow the instructions for custom rewrites.

*be careful here, moving categories via the acp is the buggiest piece of *** i have ever experienced in the vb_acp. If you can, i would strongly advise you to do it manually in the database. And backup your database before that!