Winning Lottery Ticket Sold on U Street; Discovery's Big Shark Not Coming Out This Year: Morning Links

Panda Pregnancy Watch Kicks in to High Gear: National Zoo officials have formally put female panda Mei Xiang under 24-hour surveillance in the event that she drops a brand new panda cub into our lives in the near future. Could this be the real thing, or just another pseudo-pregnancy? The odds are stacked against baby panda aficionados, but we'll still be keeping our fingers crossed.

Shark Week Just Won't Be the Same: Potentially sad news for Silver Spring residents and lovers of all things shark-related: Discovery Communications has decided not to install its hometown mascot, Chompie the Shark, for this year's Shark Week, according to Silver Spring Patch. The inflatable shark has typically been installed on the side of Discovery's Maryland headquarters each summer in time for the big ratings grabber, but network officials say Chompie needs a rest this year. But fear not, Chompie fans: he'll be back next year for shark week's 25th anniversary.

Metro Budget Approved: At least there's no Metro fare hikes to deal with this year. WMATA's board voted to approve a $2.55 billion budget Thursday, a plan which both eschews increased fares and most service cuts. The board opted instead to fill a $66 million gap with additional subsidies, the Examiner reports.

Winning Mega Millions Ticket Sold on U Street: If you happened to have purchased a Mega Millions lottery ticket at the 7-Eleven on U Street last week, stop what you're doing and check those numbers. A $250,000 payout could be waiting for you, NBC4 reports. No one has yet stepped forward to claim the prize, lottery officials say. If you're too nervous to check, Washingtonian staffers would be more than willing to, ahem, inspect your ticket for you.

Mmm, Guacamole: ARLNow reported yesterday that the popular District Taco cart, the one that usually serves Rosslyn and Crystal City, was accidentally upended on its side Thursday morning on the ramp from Lee Highway to I-66/Roosevelt Bridge. Luckily, the damage was minimal, but it made for a pretty amazing photo. TBD digs in even deeper to get the important details: the cart is "full of guacamole right now," owner Osiris Hoil tells them. “And beans and rice.”

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