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>> It’s looking like the Cooch is catching a break. WTOP reports that Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling will likely drop his bid for the Republican nomination for the commonwealth’s gubernatorial race, leaving Attorney General Ken “The Cooch” Cuccinelli as the sole contender to take on Democratic hopeful Terry McAuliffe next November.

>> If you see people lining up outside convenience stores today, it’s probably because they’re hoping the can hit the jackpot. WJLA writes that the Powerball jackpot has hit $500 million, leading many to buy extra tickets in hopes of winning. Earlier this year, a $640 million Mega Millions jackpots produced long lines outside of retailers that sold the tickets.

>> A second former employee of the Office of the D.C. Chief Financial Officer claimed in a sworn deposition that D.C. CFO Natwar Gandhi tried to control the content and release of internal audits over fears that the media would get a hold of them, reports the Post. The former internal affairs chief is the second such employee to say that Gandhi had interfered in his work, especially those reports that were critical of the office and how it handles the city’s finances. Gandhi, who was reappointed to a second five-year term earlier this year, has come under fire for a number of recent missteps.

Briefly Noted: Increased enrollment in D.C. charter schools leads to $20.5 million budget gap … Seven D.C. playgrounds ranked as being unsafe … Officials to break ground on new education center at Vietnam Veterans Memorial … Four-year-old boy left unattended on D.C. school bus … Man stabbed in Woodley Park Metro was robbed by group that set him up … Kennedy Center debuts brand new organ.

This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011, a local restaurant raised eyebrows by charging 29 cents for filtered water and D.C. officials monitored health conditions at two Occupy D.C. encampments. In 2010, Rogue 24’s R.J. Cooper went on Iron Chef.