L.A. Now

An Amber Alert was issued early Friday for an autistic teen who was inside an idling car outside a fast-food restaurant in Paramount when it was stolen, authorities said.

Frankie Vargoa, 17, was seated inside his sister’s car sometime after 11:30 p.m. Thursday when she ran into Jack in the Box in the 6600 block of East Alondra Boulevard to retrieve an order, said Sgt.

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Friday, July 21, and here’s what’s happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Fighting to save Mariposa from a destructive fire

A fire on the western edge of Yosemite is shaping up to be one of the most disastrous of the year so far.

Residents displaced by the Detwiler fire attended a community meeting at the Merced Theatre on Thursday night, where they expressed concerns about security and inquired about when they could return home.

As firetrucks rolled through the hazy, deserted streets of this historic gold-mining town, Brian Redding stood behind the cash register at the Grizzly Gas mini-market Thursday, waiting in his green uniform.

A few firefighters who had been hard at work protecting tiny Mariposa from the explosive Detwiler fire had stopped in for snacks.

A federal judge has denied ex-Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca’s request to remain free while he appeals his conviction on charges that he obstructed an investigation into abuses in the county jail system.

In a nine-page ruling Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson found that Baca failed to raise any issues that would likely result in a new trial.

The union that represents the Pasadena police officer who was disciplined for not filing a prompt report on a drug overdose witnessed by the then-dean of USC’s medical school is conducting a legal review of the incident, the labor organization said Thursday.

A tip about the March 2016 overdose of a young woman at the Hotel Constance in Pasadena led to a Times investigation that found that Dr.