It's my suspicion that the people who report on such things, mouth breathing journos mostly, aren't capable of understanding and explaining the science. They just in effect say "Astronomers tell us that when they look at distant stars they have concluded the expansion of the universe is accelerating over time" and then with their limited understanding of Physics, Stellar Distances, Light Speed, etc. somehow think the conclusion is based on those very distant stars moving faster than nearby ones. So the conclusion is mind boggling but the explanation for what led to it doesn't really make much sense.
If I was still in college I'd be able to knock on the door of the professor who conducted my Astronomy class (held, by the way, in the Planetarium of The OSU where on occasion he could just say "Let's turn down the lights and I'll show you" ... very friggin' cool!) and ask him for an explanation. But that's not an option anymore :-(