Around Maryland

Henry “Box” Brown contorted himself to fit inside the 3-by-3 foot cargo box with only a bladder of water and a hand drill in case he needed holes for air. The box was loaded onto a train headed north. He was hoping to set himself free. After mailing himself to Pennsylvania in 1849, Brown continued to advocate for abolition, later living in England and Toronto as a speaker and touring musician. Jonathan Goldman, chief curator at the B&O Railroad Museum, figured Brown’s journey to freedom brought him through Baltimore. The only train from the south to Washington D.C. was the B&O, so therefore if Brown took the train to Washington, he may have continued on to Baltimore.

In the video, Anna Borkowski snuggles with her dog Remi after waking up, their faces touching. The only sound is Remi’s breathing and a sigh as the dog shifts her position. “When you know mommy is sad,” the caption reads. Though it could have been taken yesterday — Remi and her two siblings still cuddle on Borkowski’s lap whenever they can — the saved Snapchat footage is from five years ago this past October, the day after Borkowski reported a sexual assault by three University of Maryland, Baltimore County baseball players.

Phoenix Mercury center and WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner has been released from a Russian penal colony and is in United States custody after a prisoner exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout, President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday morning. Senior administration officials said Griner had been released from the penal colony within the last 48 hours and taken to Moscow before flying to the United Arab Emirates and is currently on her way back to the United States.

Three respiratory illnesses flu, RSV and COVID-19 are all circulating right now among children. The so-called triple-demic is straining pediatric hospital capacity, and, in some areas, parents are noticing a shortage of over-the-counter ibuprofen and acetaminophen for kids. It's a demand issue. Children are getting sick, parents are looking for relief for them, and so those medicines are flying off the shelf.

The Anne Arundel County Board of Education voted Wednesday to adopt a 2023-2024 school year calendar that starts before Labor Day. Under the calendar, which passed by a vote of 6-2, public schools will begin Aug. 28, 2023, and end June 13, 2024. This schedule was one of two options provided by the Calendar Committee. The other option had classes starting after Labor Day.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and community leaders on Monday announced the expansion of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy. Starting in 2023, the strategy will go beyond the western police district. It will be citywide by mid-2024. The strategy "engages directly with those most intimately involved in and affected by violence, leveraging an intentional collaboration between law enforcement, social services, and community members who collectively co-sign and deliver an anti-violence message to stop the shooting," according to the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

While pregnant with her firstborn, Ana Rodney looked forward to a nine-month journey that culminated with a joyous return home from the hospital with her baby. Then reality hit, and Rodney found herself suffering alone. Rodney, 37, delivered Aiden, 7, under traumatic circumstances. He was born three months premature, weighed one pound, five ounces and spent six months in the neonatal intensive care unit at the University of Maryland Medical Center. All the while, she endured personal tragedy, unemployment and homelessness.