R&D: Home Repossessions Hit Record High, START Treaty Faces Test Vote, and Obama Looks to Name Warren as a Special Adviser

Here is your R&D for September 16th:

Foreclosure rates hold steady from CNN
Although the number of properties entering the foreclosure process dropped 30% last month, lenders repossessed a record 95,000 homes.  Find out what this says about the health of the housing market.

New START nuclear treaty faces key US Senate test from the Agence France Presse
Today, the START treaty with Russia faces a test vote in the U.S. Senate.  The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will take up the treaty and send it to the floor for approval.  67 votes are needed for ratification, but only two Republicans are on board to vote for it because of concerns that it will hamper plans for a missile defense system.

Obama reportedly to name Warren special adviser from the Boston Globe
President Obama reportedly plans to appoint Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren to a Treasury Department post that lets her create the consumer protection bureau, which is part of the financial overhaul Congress passed earlier in the year.  Republicans have threatened to filibuster Warren’s formal nomination to the bureau, making the appointment necessary.

EU Ministers Agree on South Korea Trade Deal from the Wall Street Journal
The European Union’s trade ministers approved an agreement with South Korea today that eliminates tariffs and streamlines regulations.  The deal will begin next summer as long as the EU passes anti-dumping measures.  The deal is a big victory for South Korea, whose free trade deal with the U.S. has not been ratified.

Extremists Are Taking Over the GOP from the Washington Post (courtesy of Real Clear Politics)
In this op-ed piece, E.J. Dionne discusses whether the Tea Party movement is making the Republican Party too radical.  It provides a quick discussion of concerns some political analysts have about the tea parties impact on the 2010 midterms.