SAN MARINO, Calif. (KTLA) – An investigation is underway after firefighters battling a house fire in San Marino discovered the body of a woman inside, officials announced Monday.  

Fire crews responded to reports of the blaze in the 2000 block of Lorain Road just before 10 a.m., according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.  

Sky5 captured aerial footage of the incident, with neighbors telling KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw that they saw fire coming from the rear of the home, near the kitchen.  

It wasn’t until after firefighters knocked the flames down that they made the gruesome discovery.  

“It’s definitely not normal, it’s pretty uneventful around here,” one neighbor told KTLA. “I’ve lived here all my life, and I can say this is not common at all. I think I’ve probably seen two big crimes happen in my 21 years of living here.”  

Responding L.A. County Sheriff’s homicide investigators quickly learned that a husband, wife and their two children live in the home and were working to figure out what the caused the fire and if there’s been any reports of violence at the home in the past.  

“The only thing we’ve been told is that there was a petty theft call and a wild animal call, but nothing of any domestic violence nature,” Lt. Steve DeJong told reporters.  

Authorities added that the woman’s family is cooperating with the investigation and that they are trying to determine if the fire was simply a horrific accident or involved potential foul play.  

Surveillance cameras in and around the property may provide investigators with that information, though officials have to obtain search warrants before getting the video.  

“Due to the sensitivity of [the investigation], we are going to wait before we make any statements about what we’re uncovering,” DeJong said.  

TURLOCK, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a $322 billion budget without a deficit, a welcome change after two years of significant budget shortfalls in the nation’s most populous state.

But the budget Newsom announced Monday is mostly a placeholder as California waits to see if incoming President Donald Trump will follow through on threats to revoke billions in federal dollars, which could force lawmakers to make painful cuts to essential programs. About a third of California’s budget relies on funding from the federal government, including tens of billions to provide health care services. Trump takes office Jan. 20, and Newsom must sign the final budget by the end of June.

California lawmakers already opened a special session to consider giving a fresh $25 million to Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office to defend against or take on potential legal challenges from the Trump administration. Fights are likely between California and Washington, D.C., over climate policy and immigrant rights. State senators have also proposed additional funding to provide free legal services to immigrant communities.

Newsom’s administration plans to provide more details on the budget proposal on Friday, the deadline to present it to lawmakers. Newsom announced the numbers early before heading out of state for former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral services.

Newsom said he’s proposing little new spending, but the budget does allow the state to fully implement the country’s first universal transitional kindergarten program, which will make such school free for some 400,000 4-year-olds in California. That’s an effort Newsom has championed since 2021. His plan also includes doubling the state’s film and TV tax credit to $750 million annually to bring back Hollywood jobs that have gone to New York and Georgia.

He said good planning in the last budget allowed the state to avoid a major shortfall this year.

“Last year, we endeavored to make this year’s budget a nonevent,” Newsom said.

The governor’s office also estimates tax revenues for this year are $16.5 billion above projections, thanks to the booming stock market and rapid income growth for high-income Californians.

That has helped the state weather the sluggish economy with limited job growth and ongoing weak consumer spending.

California’s economy is the fifth largest in the world. Last year the state faced an estimated $46.8 billion budget deficit and in the year before, a $32 billion budget shortfall. The state also saved $1.2 billion over two years by eliminating roughly 6,500 vacant positions in state departments and another $3.5 billion from cutting travel budgets and modernizing IT systems, Newsom said.

Still, such deficits have forced the state to pare back or delay some of its progressive policies that were fueled by record-breaking surpluses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Newsom poked at Trump’s planned Department of Government Efficiency, to be run by Elon Musk, by noting he created an Office of Data and Innovation designed to streamline government back in 2019.

“Our D.O.G.E. is spelled O.D.I.,” he said.

Unlike most states, California taxes capital gains — mostly money made from investments and stocks — the same rate as money made from wages and salaries. The result is nearly half of the state’s income tax collections comes from only 1% of the population. That has led to unpredictable, large swings in revenue in California’s budget.

In November, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office warned the state will face double-digit shortfalls in the next five years. That could curtail California’s ability to shield its programs from Trump’s attacks.

In the same Long Beach hospital where she regularly volunteered with her rescued therapy dog, loved ones said hit-and-run victim Nikki Rash took her final breath with her Labrador Retriever, Gabby, right at her side.

Nikki, a 78-year-old Long Beach resident, died on Saturday, Jan. 4, from severe injuries that she sustained in a hit-and-run crash on Dec. 26 – and the suspect is still at large.

“The neck injury and brain injury she sustained, she was being kept alive on machines and so after 10 days we honored her health care directive,” said Nikki’s son, Chris Rash. “We let her go peacefully.”

Chris said his mother was only blocks away from her home in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood when she was T-boned by a driver who ran a red light.

According to the Long Beach Police Department’s report, officers responded around 4:45 p.m. to the intersection of California Avenue and San Antonio Drive on the day after Christmas.

Investigators found that after the crash, the male suspect briefly stepped out of his car, but quickly got back in and drove away. 

Officials have not released a suspect description, but his car is described as a tan-colored Toyota Avalon sedan. Surveillance video of the car showed notable front-end damage.

Police said that the victim, who family members identified as Nikki, declined medical treatment at the scene but transported herself to a medical facility a few hours after the crash.

“At that point in time, she was complaining of severe headache and neck pain,” said Chris. 

Chris told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo that when his family got to Nikki, she had no recollection of the collision after suffering a massive head injury.

The 78-year-old was in a coma after she underwent brain surgery and was placed on life support at Long Beach Memorial – one of the hospitals where Nikki’s former co-volunteer said she used to visit patients with her two rescue Labs, Dutch and Gabby.

“The nurses were very kind at the ICU,” said Andrew Lesser, president of Southern California Labrador Retriever Rescue (SCLRR). “They gave special permission for Nikki’s service dog Gabby to visit with her.”

Lesser said losing Nikki will be a heavy blow to SCLRR, an organization she volunteered for since 2013.

“This shouldn’t have happened,” said Lesser. “Somebody needs to pay for this. Whoever did this needs to pay.”

Nikki’s family is asking for witnesses to come forward and help police with their investigation.

“We also ask that the person who did this step up and take ownership of what they did,” said Chris. “They made a mistake and they need to step up.”

Police ask anyone who witnessed the collision or has information on the suspect to call Long Beach police detective Ashley Van Holland at 562-570-7355.  

Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.