When Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced today that he had been diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer, the news seemed to throw his vote into doubt on DADT repeal. The initial announcement suggested that after a pre-op doctor’s visit on Friday he’d be away from the Senate until early January.

But Wyden’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Hoelzer, has just confirmed to TPM that Sen. Wyden will be available this weekend to vote on the key DADT and DREAM Act votes.

Dem tempers boil over after Republicans kill spending bill.

As spending bill collapses, Reid pushes ahead with a vote on DADT on Saturday.

Our reporter on the Hill says Sen. Reid just announced he’s filing cloture tonight on DADT and the DREAM Act. That would mean the votes would be on Saturday. That sounds like DADT is up first. We’ll have more for you momentarily.

Is the White House stalling DADT repeal to ensure time to pass START?

I should add: I don’t envy the spot the White House is in on this one. Two important issues of very different sorts. Both with sizable majority support in the Senate. I don’t think or at least don’t want to believe it’s one or the other. But then, it’s the Senate.

We think of unmanned drones snuffing people out over Afghanistan and Pakistan. And you may have heard that the US is operating drones down on the Mexican border. But now it turns out the Mexicans are running their own drones along the US border. And one of them crashed this week into a backyard in El Paso.

When we first heard about this I was like: they have drones too? And then we found out they’re part of a big shipment of drones the Mexicans bought earlier this year from Israel. Eric Lach has the story.

To honor the retirement of Larry King, we look back at 25 years of Larry chilling with various politicians in our LarryMania Slideshow.

And special bonus, Larry’s mugshot from when he was arrested for larceny back in 1971.

“Moral responsibility may compel you to disobey the law.”

That’s a tweet from a few hours ago from newly-indicted former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Julian Assange speaks to reporters after release from London jail. Watch the video.

Anti-gay rights groups are accusing the gay rights movement of stealing the rainbow from them. Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse: “We can’t simply let that go by. Families put rainbows in their children’s nurseries. Little Christian preschools will have rainbows…Noah’s Ark and all the animals…. Those are great Christian symbols, great Jewish symbols.”