clouds. that will help push the temperatures up during the day tomorrow. they're up above the freezing mark. that's the big issue. now allentown, no problem with ice or snow. we've got even warmer weather on the way plus heavier rain get into both of them a little bit later. now, to a story all new at 6:00, nbc 10 continues to search for answers in the case of a mother charged in the rape and murder of her adopted daughter. we've been gathering details on the murder of grace packer for several weeks. >> today nbc 10's deanna durante went to get answers about how her mother, sara packer, was able to get 30 children in her care as a foster mom, but deanna, you were kicked out of a government office today. tell us what happened. >> reporter: we came here asking questions of the lehigh county government services building. we wanted to know what the county did after being asked to investigate the allentown family. the packers, after sara packer lost her job as a social worker, and david packer was sent to jail for molesting two children. >> can i have your name? they're working on getting someone to assist you. >> reporter: at first we were told someone with lehigh county human services would come and talk to us, but after a few minutes. >> whoever is in charge upstairs, they're escorting you guys out. >> reporter: it was not a county official. it was a sheriff's deputy. >> i was told by the head of this department that they have no comment at this time. >> reporter: the deputy said he was told to escort us from the public building. without a camera we were able to go to the offices of a county executive and commissioners. we were told none of them were in the office today. nbc 10 is asking about sara packer and her daughter grace. we know grace was sexually abused by her adopted father david packer and sources say lehigh county children and youth were notified to watch over grace. what we don't know is if they actually did it or if they made contact with any of the other children in sara packer's care. >> sara, do you have anything to say? >> reporter: as for the investigation into sara packer, we know police from multiple counties spent the day working on the case comparing notes and going over evidence. it was decided the couple will be taken to a more secure facility for their court appearances later this month. packer has been appointed a private attorney to represent her. he says he can't talk about the case. and a public defender will represent jacob sullivan, who is charged with raping and strangling grace. and when it comes to jacob sullivan sources say he's made a jailhouse confession to another inmate and that inmate could be a witness in the case according to court documents jacob sullivan has confessed his role in the crime to family members as well as hospital staff before his arrest. reporting live in lehigh county, deanna durante, nbc 10 news. philadelphia's district attorney has been hit with the largest fine in the history of the city's ethics board. d.a. seth williams agreed to pay $62,000 in penalties for failing to disclose sources of income and accepting gifts barred by the city's ethics code. he has six years to pay. williams will pay the city close to three grand, the value of the gifts he was not supposed to accept. in a statement williams said, these mistakes were my own and i accept full responsibility for my failure to do everything that was required of me as a public official. end quote. president-elect donald trump will be sworn into office in three days. and people from our area are heading to washington, d.c., to witness the swearing-in ceremony. buss from the lehigh valley will be carrying rural voters who helped swing pennsylvania in donald trump's favor. nbc 10's randy gyllenhaal spoke to them today. >> reporter: in the small borough of bath, northampton county, trump campaign volunteer cynthia anderson gets her outfit ready for the big day. >> proud member of the basket of deplorables trump 2016. >> reporter: she scored two tickets that helped slip pennsylvania red. >> he told it like it was. >> reporter: over at nazareth, hayden phillips just printed out his bus ticket. he'll ride down to other tea party members watching trump take the oath of office from the national mall. >> i never even had an interest of going down to see an inauguration. i was never that vested into it. but i did get vested into the success of donald trump. >> reporter: and trump's success is thanks in large part to voters like phillips and others in rural largely white working class counties in pennsylvania who turned out to vote in large numbers. >> we could make this change and, in fact, we did. >> reporter: many voters believe trump's promise to bring manufacturing jobs back, others just felt left out during the past eight years. >> felt like they were disenfranchised, that they weren't being represented, that their voice didn't count. >> reporter: now they're ready to storm the capital even as many democrats vow to boycott the entire thing. in bath, northampton county, randy gyllenhaal, nbc 10 news. the list of democrats who are boycotting the inauguration keeps growing. you can get the updated list now on the nbc 10 app. nbc 10 is your home for around the clock inauguration coverage. it begins tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. jim and i are live in washington, d.c., with lauren mayk at 4:00, 5:00, and 11:00 p.m. more on nbc 10 news today. then join us thursday night for a one-hour special, the inauguration of donald trump. live coverage from washington, d.c., begins at 7:00 p.m. delaware has a new governor tonight. john carney was sworn in this morning on the steps of legislative hall in dover. the former congressman says he will focus on retooling the state's economic development plan to better serve entrepreneurs and small businesses. he also says he will work with wilmington's new mayor to make the state's largest city much safer for residents and visitors. >> wilmington residents and the tens of thousands who commute into the city deserve to feel safe and feel proud of where they live and carney says he wih others on the state's addiction problem and working to increase state revenue. josh shapiro took the oath of office as the new attorney general. takes over after chairing the board of commissioners. kathleen kane resigned last year after convicted of leaking grand jury material and lying about it. two other pennsylvania officials were sworn in today as well. auditor general eugene dipasquale and treasurer joe torcella. a man high on cocaine ran into a school this morning. it happened in katasauqua in lehigh valley. the suspect was armed with a screwdriver. he broke away from security officers once but they then took him to the hospital. a man accused of killing his estranged wife in front of their son will remain in jail for now. police say jeremiah monell stabbed tara o'shea to death in her home last month. the u.s. supreme court is delaying its decision over sports betting in new jersey. the court was expected to decide today whether to consider new jersey's case, but instead the justices want to hear more testimony. new jersey is challenging a federal law that restricts sports betting to only four states. pennsylvania casinos are pulling in record high revenues. a report released today by the state's gaming control board shows they made more than $3 billion last year. the big money came from table games which made a record amount of money. developing now, donald trump's selection for education secretary is on the hot seat. >> the confirmation hearing is happening tonight for betsy devos. betsy devos is a longtime advocate for charter schools and vouchers. she'll push more school choice and advocate for great public schools. if confirmed as education secretary. teachers unions have charged that devos plans to dismantle public education. the president of the philadelphia teachers union says, quote, anyone who works, has children in or attends a public school should be alarmed by donald trump's choice for secretary of education. vice president-elect mike pence sat down with bob casey. they discussed everything from trade to health care reform. late this afternoon we learned that president obama commuted the sentence of chelsea manning. the former intelligence analyst convicted of leaking information to wikileaks. she will be released from prison now on may 17th. president obama also commuted the sentences of some local convicts including drug offenders from philadelphia, reading and pleasantville, new jersey. up next at 6:00, stuck in the sand. why officials can't move this dead whale off the jersey shore and how it could be a sign of a bigger problem. well, warmer than normal temperatures are settling over the region. how long can you expect the conditions where you live? next in my forecast. philadelphia circus community says their art is still alive and thriving despite the closing of the greatest show on earth. the executive director of the philadelphia school of circus arts tells nbc 10 philadelphia will soon be home to the only full-time school offering a diploma in circus arts. over the weekend ringling brothers barnum and bailey circus announced it is shutting down. a lawsuit to close one of its beaches. the suit is filed by the family of a man who died in 2012 when sand gave away under his feet at the hereford inlet beach. the suit argues the beach is too dangerous for people to use. north wildwood said unstable sand is part of nature and closing the beach would hurt other people who still want to go there. a judge will hear arguments next month. the beaches in avalon and stone harbor are getting more sand ahead of the summer season. the avalon borough announced one of the largest sand fill projects in its history. the project will begin in a few weeks. it's to correct damage caused in part by the snowstorm last january. a 25-ton whale carcass is stuck in the sand at the jersey shore. >> this deceased humpback has been lodged in a sand bar between brigantina and long island since last week. >> they explain why it can't be moved and how it could be part of a bigger problem. >> reporter: it's accessible only by boat, stuck on a newly formed island of sand. >> this sand bar is out here in the middle of nowhere. >> reporter: a dead 35-feet-long humpback whale just off the coasts of brigantine and long beach island. >> important to get as many samples as we can. >> reporter: staffers from the stranding center capture this video friday. >> 10'8". >> reporter: on their quest for clues about why the massive creature died likely within the past week. they say the whale did not appear to have been hit by a ship. >> when you have an animal like that coming in and there's no apparent cause of injury, we need to examine it. >> reporter: federal wildlife authorities are anxious for answers after about 50 humpbacks died along the east coast last year. >> whenever you have a large number dying off in short period of time, there's concern. you have to wonder what's causing that. >> reporter: experts say this whale probably weighs about 25 tons. the coast guard and a boat towing company believe it's too dangerous to try to move the humpback. so this small ridge of sand is where it will likely remain. >> it's going to stay there until it washes out on its own. >> reporter: ted greenberg, nbc 10 news. the luck of the irish is not on the side of trenton's st. patrick's day parade. the town's irish heritage association announced the parade is canceled this year. organizers blamed rising costs for the decision to end the three-decade-long tradition. back to our weather now and a wet ride home tonight. looking at live conditions along i-95 in south philadelphia. the roads are wet out there. glenn, how long will it last? >> the steadier rain is almost over, but we do have more showers for the rest of the night. the low clouds are in. you can't see the tops of the buildings, but we can see across the river. so the fog is not dense, at least not in most of the area. the temperatures are much, much cooler in the lehigh valley than elsewhere but still above freezing and will stay above freezing. reading at 40, brandon at 38, mertztown at 35. so is bath and nazareth and easton and bethlehem are at 36 degrees along with whitehall and in allentown. if anything those temperatures are going to go up during the night tonight. now, we have that heavier rain that was in delaware county. i told you just a few minutes ago was coming right into philadelphia. and here it is. right over center city and up toward chestnut hill, up toward the main line. more back into chester county. so we've got at least another hour of some pretty significant rain, but things are really quieting down. back to the west, as you can see, we also have some decent-sized rain drops happening at the shore here, atlantic city getting some heavier rain along with long beach island. the back edge of this is back in ohio. so there is life at the end -- light at the end of the tunnel. as we go through the evening, we have some more showers coming through, but it's not that large area of rain that you're seeing right now across the area. by tomorrow things are basically dry. could still be a little damp first thing with a little bit of fog, but we're dry during the day wednesday, we're dry thursday, then here comes the next system on friday, inauguration day. now, this is not a big storm. it's not heavy rain, but it does look like there will be some rain around for the inauguration during the afternoon. forecast temperature, though, pretty mild and mild in the days going up to that as well. now, tonight across our area, temperatures are low in allentown at 35, but at least it's above freezing in the pocon poconos, freezing fog going on. see widespread showers around, even 11:00. when we go to 6:00 in morning we're not seeing these raindrops. we can have delays due to that. as we go through the day a lot of cloud cover, but temperatures getting up near 50 degrees. that's way above average. the average high is 40. keep that in mind as you look at this ten-day because thursday up to 54, friday 52. even with the clouds coming in, some showers, mainly friday night. that's from the washington stuff. and another round coming in sunday night. but the heaviest activity coming in on monday. i think we have potential for some really heavy rain and strong gusty winds on monday and the rain lingering into tuesday. but then look what comes behind it. not cold air, warmer air. up to 60 degrees wednesday. and even above normal thursday and friday with the rain, but thins may be changing for february. check out my blog on nbc10.com for that. i'm john clark. joel joel embiid is the biggest star in town right now. where should you start when you're told you have cancer? start with a specialist. start where you'll find advanced technology, precision treatment options and truly compassionate care. start here with a team of experts who treat only cancer. every stage. every day. it's not one thing we do. it's they thing we do. start at cancer treatment centers of ameca in philadelphia. the evolutioof cancer care is here. learn more at cancercenter.com/experts appointments available now. this is sports desk brought to you by xfinity. x-1 from xfinity will change the way you experience tv. i'm john clark from csn. the sixers are coming to life aren't they? they won six of the last seven with joel embiid. t.j. mcconnell doubtful with a wrist injury. joel embiid is becoming a star in the nba. the only other player in league history with more points per mins played as a rookie, wilt chamberlain. but speaking of minutes, the coach says he does not see the team increasing his minutes restriction of 28 this year and brett loves how the sixers are growing together. >> you feel like the group is coming together. you feel like all the work that we have put in is starting to pay dividends in relation to just a solid foundation. you know, we really haven't done anything differently. i see them moving forward. i see them improving. i think from that perspective, you feel confident and comfortable with the foundation that we're trying to grow can absorb talent. on to the flyers. they're off this week but congrats to wayne simmonds on getting engaged. the last time a flyer got engaged, claude jury ow, the flyers went on a win streak. >> sometime us never know how things are going to turn out. you might not think it's an ideal time for a break, but in all honesty, maybe this break is the best thing for us, for everybody to get away for a couple of day. it's been a tough stretch. it's tough mentally a little bit tough physically so maybe the break will clear some of that. >> they'll be back saturday. could the eagles move on from center kelsey. they're considering it possibly trading or releasing him. steelers receiver antonio brown shared his team's locker room scene on facebook live. put it out there after their win sunday night. he put his coach mike tomlin's post game speech out there to the public. tomlin could be heard calling the patriots bleeps. here is tomlin today. >> it was selfish for him to do that and it was inconsiderate for him to do that. not only is it a violation of our policy. it's a violation of league policy. both of which he knows. we will punish him. we won't punish us. and we'll do so swiftly. and we'll do so internally. >> sounds like some parents talking to their teenagers about social media, huh, jim? >> he does sound a little annoyed. as i would tell my kids, uncool. don't do that again. all right, john clark. riders late to work after a commute filled with delays. >> tonight at 11:00 what went wrong and what they're doing to fix it. looks like we're still a man short. not anymore. gus! the second most famous groundhog in pennsylvania. let's hit the ice. whoaaa! take the shot! (buzzer) that shot was one in a million. so's this. all the money millionaire edition, new from the pennsylvania lottery. with five top prizes of a million bucks. it's a real game changer. (giggles) keep on scratchin' where things come from? how they get here? what they're packed in? it's a lot of stuff. and these things add up. that's why we recycle. [vo:]it's nice to know that raymour and flanigan is proud to be a leading recycler- 17 million pounds of recyclable materials every year. turned from trash into treasure. so in the future, we will all have a more beautiful world. ♪ you can once again sit on the wall in rittenhouse square. protesters held a sit-in. the parks department put up four no-sitting signs, today those signs were removed. they're working on a plan to deal with any concerns about normal care and maintenance of that wall moving forward. safe to say, no one's sitting on the wall right now. >> and if they are, they're getting wet sitting on there. you can see the area rain in philadelphia and just into the western suburbs. the heaviest of the rain over philadelphia and delaware county right now and so that means it will be moving out over the next couple of hours. tomorrow's going to be a much drier day. it will be a little bit milder. temperature up near 50 degrees with some fog possible in the morning. all right, glenn. that's our news at 6:00. i'm jim rosen field. >> i'm jacqueline london. breaking news tonight, shock waves as president obama commutes the sentence of chelsea manning, the army intelligence soldier giving information to wikileaks. manning to be freed but what about edward snowden? would a replacement cover those with preexisting conditions. is flight 370 lost forever? across america. we're in the home of the reagan democrats who delivered big for donald trump. their hopes and fears as he prepares to take office. a boom in boomers paying for college. inside the fastest growing age group left saddled with student debt. a stunning medical