London Olympics: Needham’s Aly Raisman Will Captain U.S. Gymnastics Team


Needham’s Aly Raisman Will Captain U.S. Gymnastics Team. Raisman, 18, is the oldest member of the team and is favored to win the floor exercise. ESPN reports that Raisman took her first gymnastics class as a toddler — her mother enrolled her in a “Mommy & Me” at 18 months old. She’s practiced at Brestyan’s American Gymnastics Club in Burlington for the last five years. [Boston.com | ESPN]

In Clarifying Chick-fil-A Stance, Menino Invokes the Bully Pulpit. “Originally, I said I would do everything I can to stop them. And that was mostly using the bully pulpit of being mayor of the city and getting public support,” Menino said of his vow to block Chick-fil-A from setting up shop in Boston. “But I didn’t say I would not allow them to go for permits or anything like that. I just said we would do everything we can, bully-pulpit wise.” [Boston.com]

Harvard Is Developing Human-On-a-Chip for Drug Testing, Research. Researchers at the university’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have already developed organs-on-a-chip (like lungs and guts), which are similar to computer chips but instead carry out the basic functions of organs. Now, the researchers are developing chips for the 10 major human organs and linking them together — the end result won’t look very much like a human body — but the organs will interact and provide what some predict will be a cheaper, faster way to test drugs. [Mashable]

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg Endorses Scott Brown. Bloomberg plans to host a fundraiser for Brown at his home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in August. This comes at the same time that Ray Flynn, Boston’s former mayor who already endorsed Brown, continued his support in a new TV ad. [Bloomberg.com | Herald]

Simmons College Hosts Boston’s Third-Annual Break-Up Summit. Approximately 250 teens attended the summit yesterday to learn how to break up without public humiliation, cheating, violence, or worse. The summit is organized by the Boston Public Health Commission in partnership with numerous social service agencies. [Fox]