her 14-year-old daughter killed and abused. today family, friends and even complete strangers came to remember grace packer. grace was killed allegedly in a rain/murder fantasy. her adopted mother and the mother's boyfriend were arrested. >> nbc10 news deanna durante has been looking into this tragedy for weeks and today she spoke with grace's birth mother about her loss. >> i remember her smile. >> reporter: so filled with emotion she can barely speak or walk. she's here for a community memorial for grace packer, the daughter, the state forced her to give up more than ten years ago. >> she was loveable little girl and i only had three years with my daughter. >> reporter: she has told nbc10 she didn't know about the broos grace suffered at the hands of her adopted father and she didn't know until days ago that grace had been murdered at the hands of her adoptive mother and

boyfriend. grace spent a year at abington junior high school before she vanished this summer. >> i got super sad that she is all gone and i got so tearful. they were in the same class last year. kelsey's awistic and gracie went out of her way to be nice to her. >> reporter: before she went inside the memorial, kelsey released a balloon a message to her friend. >> i was going to let the balloon fly my note to heaven. >> reporter: while some could talk easily of grace, her biological mother and relatives had trouble speaking. that was rose saying this was the hardest thing she's had to do in her life. the pastor inside new life told the crowd that he knows they wish they could unknow how grace died. he said that now they do know the facts surrounding her death and people inside could choose

to not look away and to do more in the future. reporting live in glenside, deanna durante nbc10 news. >> nbc10 has been covering new details on the story every day. you can find more of deanna's reporting on the nbc10 app. you can learn more about grace packer's adoption mom and her connection to the lehigh valley. >> to the weather now we're tracking rain for the start of the work week. first alert radar shows the system moving into our area in time for your commute tomorrow morning. first alert chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz is timing this out. >> the clouds moved in over the last couple of hours and the rain will be coming after that. we've got a few blips on the radar close by but none of that is reaching the ground yet. some more moist back to the west and we're getting a little bit rain in southwestern pennsylvania. as we go through the evening,

very little on the radar. it's going to be increasing as we go through the morning rush tomorrow. so as we start to rush some isolated areas of light rain and then it tends to increase later on during the latter portions of the morning rush, becomes much more widespread. slide chance of couple of freezing rain drops farther to the north although it's well above freezing now. 39 in allentown and in philadelphia. we'll talk more about heavier rain that's on the more with the rest of the forecast in a few minutes. >> just as i have a dream -- >> today our nation remembers the legacy of dr. martin luther king junior. the leader of the civil rights movement is known for using nonviolent civil disobedience to fight for the rights of colors. >> nbc10 drew smith was right

out there with them for the day of action, resistant and empowerment drew's joining us now live with more. >> reporter: the pastor of this church here this is actually the most important part of the day happening right now behind these stain glass windows and at houses of worship across the city. they all are trying to make sure that dr. king's legacy lives on. >> no justice, no peace. >> reporter: within feet of the iconic symbols of our nation's beginning, thousands of activists marched from independence mall to the country's oldest black owned church. they're demanding that people get to work to keep martin luther king junior's dream alive. >> anywhere a threat to justice is a threat to justice everywhere. >> it was very important that we keep martin luther king's dream alive. >> reporter: relying on the lessons dr. king wunts preached. >> there are times you have to get up into the street and let people know what it is you stand for and what it is you stand

against. >> reporter: they held the signs with the words, reclaim mlk. >> things they wanted to reclaim, health care our voting rights. >> reporter: while there are certainly people upset about the current state of our society, there is still plenty of optimism that tomorrow can be better than yesterday. >> i'm the product of all the benefits of the social movements that have brought people together from all corners of society. >> reporter: and one of the faith leaders told me it was beautiful to see so many people come out and take part today. they hope people take part in the strategy sessions they're having at these churches and they also hope they stay involved throughout the year. life in society hill. >> new castle county peace march and in honor of dr. king today. they were led by a drum line and

held up positive signs during the fifth annual march. we are celebrating martin luther king legacy now on the nbc10 app. you can hear him practicing "i have a dream speech" months before he delivered it. that's now on the nbc10 app. >> want to go to breaking news we're following right now in gloucester county. over the scene of what was a fiery crash in westville. we know three cars were involved. there you see a couple of them there on your screen right now. you see emergency crews as well on the scene. this is on the corner of broadway and olive streets. police are telling us one person is trapped here, one of those cars was also on fire a short time ago stay with nbc10 on the latest update. we are now just four days away from the inauguration of president-elect donald trump. already more than two dozen democratic lawmakers have decided to boycott the upcoming

presidential inauguration. locally dwight evans and bonnie watson coleman won't be attending. democratic senator bob casey says he will be there all though they're gearing up for a fight as soon as donald trump takes office. >> i'm there because i think the peaceful transfer of power, i have a lot of disagreements with the incoming president. those will play out overtime. >> the number of democrats in congress who say they will sit out is now at 27. nbc10 is your home for inauguration coverage around the clock starting wednesday at 4:00 p.m. our entire morning team are live in washington, d.c. in the evening jim and i are in the capital. >> now to international breaking news in the past few minutes. nbc10 learned the gunman of

suspected of killing 39 people during an new year attack is under arrest. delaware resident jake raak was among those injured. he was shot in the leg but says he survived by playing dead. >> back here at home in chester county, university is cutting its tuition by 25% to try to attract more students. the catholic school told nbc10 is lower its tuition for the next school will year. colleges telling students about the price drop this week. it is also now making s.a.t. scores optional for most students to get more people to apply freezing rain admission. ging tw er local catholic colleges that recently lowered tuition. rose mont cut its tuition and la salle is dropping its tuition by 29% starting next school year. the city of wilmington has

announced a series of policing changes aimed at stopping the gun violence. starting now the police department will use a new overtime strategy, the point is to put officers in crime hot spots, both in cars and on foot. police will also amp up the efforts to talk to citizens who live in hot spots knowing the neighbors may have good information about crime. >> we're not trying to put people in prison, we're not trying to hurt your neighbors, we're trying to keep them from ruining their lives and ruining the lives of others. >> wilmington will also reach out to county and state police for assistance. the mayor believes technology currently used at the county level could be important to fighting crime in the city. >> more than a third of the people living in new jersey are considered the working poor. according to a new study from the united way, 37% of households fall into an expanded definition of poverty. they make too much to get federal assistance but struggle to afford basic necessities.

the united way says housing child care and other expenses are higher in new jersey than the national average. amazon and shop-rite are trying to give people in new jersey more options for fresh food. the retailers will begin accepting food stamps when new jersey shoppers buy groceries online. the u.s. department of agriculture says it's part of a two year pilot program. >> people who like to unwind with a beer will now have new options when they head to the state stores. starting tomorrow new regulations will let p.a. retailers sell beer in any quantity that includes six backs and 32 ounce bottles. the governor signed this law back in november. >> up next through the underground railroad. a south jersey woman talks exclusively to nbc10 on this martin luther king day about her ancestors helping to free slaves. >> plus rains coming for the start of the work week and at the head of a warmup.

i'll have the details next. >> and all new at 6:00 inauguration controversy involving bruce springsteen's music we'll explain next.

a bruce springsteen cover band is dropping out of its performance at a donald trump inauguration party.

the b street band was scheduled to perform at new jersey inauguration ball in washington after intense criticism the band announced today it will not perform. out of respect for springsteen themselves they made that decision. the boss supported hillary clinton's campaign. string steen has been an outspoken critic of president-elect trump once calling him a moran in an interview with rolling stones. >> we shall overcome. >> we shall overcome that's the message in our nation's capital and around the country as we mark martin luther king junior day in washington, hundreds gathered for this replaying ceremony at the monument to the slain civil rights leader. it is the sixth annual will replaying and day of reflection and reconciliation at the mlk memorial. >> the mayor of atlantic city attacked governor chris christie today calling him quote, an enemy of civil rights.

christie have been at odds over atlantic city's finances. >> today is martin luther king celebration and it is a source of special pride for 99-year-old south jersey woman her relatives played a key role in the underground railroad. >> nbc10 sidney long spoke slufl to marion buck on this day of volunteering and giving back. >> i don't like to be out in the front. >> reporter: at 99 marion buck isn't one for the spotlight, but proud to be the great, great niece of william still. he was born to slaves that escaped on the underground railroad a network of people and hiding spots to move slaves north to freedom. >> we changed our name in escaping. our real name is steele.

>> reporter: she spent this day by sharing what she's collected over the years with fellow residents in cherry hill. she stared with us how steele worked alongside harriet tubman documented slaves he rescued quietly. >> he hid what he wrote in a cemetery in pennsylvania. if it was caught, hundreds and hundreds of slaves would have been brought back into slavery because they could trace them. >> reporter: marion hopes that her family's rich history will inspire parents to teach their own children freedom hasn't always been free. >> kids now when they graduate some of my nephews, they think that they're parents should buy them a new car. >> reporter: she says her family's perseverance instild confidence. >> i can remember my father saying to me over and over and over, don't let anybody speak down to you. let people know that you are

good as anybody. >> reporter: she's proud her family helped others find and live their dreams. >> it just means a lot to me. >> estimated 5,000 people were at the college to take part in martin luther king junior day of service. it's the largest event of its kind. all told about 145,000 people from all ages and backgrounds are expected get their hands dirty for a good cause. >> a busy holiday for ski resorts in the poconos. you're looking live at conditions at camelback mountain. a live look now at center city. glenn, i know you're tracking rain starting overnight. >> it'll be on the light end and scattered side overnight. more widespread later on during the morning hours tomorrow. the temperatures got to watch

them as they get down through the 30s to see, if any, of it is going to freeze. one of the places that we have to watch generally speaking is in the p.a. suburbs, chester, bucks, montgomery county starting in chester county. we're going to be seeing west bradford at 35, exitton at 37, malvern at 36. these numbers are not really going to go down very much. we have cloudy skies now and that generally puts a lead on these temperatures so collegeville 39, fort washington, new hope, also 39 degrees, 37 degrees in milford township. just a few degrees to spare. we'll keep an eye on it hour by hour through the evening. the rain is coming. patchy light rain mostly into tuesday. little more widespread like i said by about 8 to 10:00 a.m. in the morning. temperatures averaging 10 degrees above normal.

inauguration day looks like it's going to be mild in d.c. but rain moving in. the temperature trend -- the average high is 40 in philadelphia. only 36 on saturday. we've been climbing a little bit over the last couple days and we'll climb some more over the next couple. by wednesday up to 51 degrees, more than 10 degrees above normal. on the radar we saw a few blips earlier. seeing even less and less now. another batch in western pennsylvania but the more significant stuff out by cincinnati. that is what's going to be getting here in the morning. as we go hour by hour you see just a few little blips of some very light patchy rain, increasing as we go through the morning rush tomorrow off and on rain as you can see here and it is just going to be a cloudy, not real pleasant day out there wednesday, prettiy cloudy as well. the low temperatures as you see above the freezing mark, chestnut hill 34, langhorne 35,

even easton and allentown 34 degrees, so that's the critical thing. stay over the freezing mark overnight because it's not going to be snow it's going to be rain and we've got a wet day tomorrow. more wet weather coming later in the week. we'll get into that with the ten day later. >> well the sixers with a martin luther king day matinee. the phillies make a big move that changes the landscape of their outfield.

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. sixers fans have until midnight to stuff the nba's

ballot box. a push to send joel embiid and today was a pretty good audition for that. the mlk matinee in milwaukee picks this up -- the outlet for emphatic dunk. final seconds of the third, more stellar defense. embiid is there to say no. sixers looking to put it away. off pick and roll joel henderson finds will embiid for the dunk. he had 22 points, 12 rebounds five blocks as the sixers win 113-104. spring training begins next month in clear water. csn phillies.com. the phils have an agreement on a one year deal.

the 30-year-old was an all star last year in toronto. popped 24 home runs, drove in 53 rbi and 140 games played last season. it had been a while since this had taken place the chicago cubs at the white house. usually the world series champ visit the champs the following season, the cubs moved up the date to be his last guest and extended the president lifetime tickets to wrigley field. >> x. factor for voters in the ap rankings. the villanova wildcats preclaimed the spot. the cats will move that top spot to the test as they host seton hall in just a matter of minutes. unlike the cubs, the flier trip to d.c. was less than memorable. they loss 5-0 yesterday as they allow third period goals in a six minute span. that was a day after giving up six to boston. now they're on a league bi-week

a new feature in the schedule that they hope to benefit from. >> it's part of the schedule, so use it to our advantage. that's -- i think that's my approach. clear heads. and make sure we're rejuv natured and ready to go to work again on friday. >> i'm john bourque from csn. we'll be right back.

jer reg . tonight in new castle county going the distance in honor of mlk day. take a look at the million meter march in new port. the money from today's event is going to the rowing club, the delaware kids club and other organizations. >> doing that inside. not a bad day to do it outside. >> outside not a great day and for inauguration friday's not a great day either but it's going to be one of the milder inaugurations in history. wednesday and thursday are really mild in d.c. for those

going up there and then as we look through the weekend and into the next week, on the mild side. >> all right. that's our news at 6:00. see you at 11:00. tonight, boycotting trump. more democrats pulling out of the inauguration as the president-elect feuds with congressman john lewis. trump ducking questions after attacking the civil rights icon. killer's wife arrested. stunning new developments after that nightclub massacre in orlando. knockout blow from a ferocious ice storm cutting across the country, spawning tornados, deadly wrecks, and rollouts. thousands powerless in the frozen dark. air disaster. dozens killed as a massive jet plunges out of the sky slamming into a neighborhood. across america, we're hitting the road for candid conversations. your hopes and concerns as a new president prepares to take office. and a dream come true for a little girl with a giant love of books.