HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A reptile believed to be struggling in sand at a Southern California beach was simply making history: a sea turtle laying eggs on the U.S. West Coast.
And three days later, there were more. An olive ridley turtle — maybe the same one — laid eggs on Sept. 19, a few miles away near the Huntington Beach Pier in Orange County, authorities said.
Click to Gallery
This aerial view shows a protective fence surrounding a sea turtle nesting site on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
This aerial view shows a protective fence surrounding a sea turtle nesting site on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A sign stands near a protected sea turtle nesting area on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A protective fence surrounds a sea turtle nesting site on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
“This is the first-ever recorded natural nesting for any sea turtle species” on the West Coast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s West Coast Fisheries division said on Facebook.
Olive ridley turtles are the smallest of sea turtles, with adults weighing up to 100 pounds (45.3 kilograms). NOAA said they're found worldwide but primarily in the tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.
The first nesting spot was near Seal Beach on Sept. 16, followed by the discovery at Huntington Beach. Both sites were subsequently fenced off. Incubation typically lasts 45 to 60 days, NOAA said.
“We’re excited about it,” said Trevor McDonald, marine safety chief at the Huntington Beach Fire Department.
Lifeguards patrolling at night saw a turtle digging in the sand and thought “maybe this turtle is sick. We just don't see this very often,” McDonald said. “Then they observed the turtle starting to lay eggs.”
Heidi Stephen said her 9-year-old son, Jude, begged her to take him to Huntington Beach to see the nest Tuesday.
“It's so magical,” Stephen said.
George Zamora said he hopes the eggs can survive any impact from tides, storms and popular beach events.
“Let them do their thing,” Zamora said. “Let them be born.”
White reported from Detroit.
This aerial view shows a protective fence surrounding a sea turtle nesting site on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
This aerial view shows a protective fence surrounding a sea turtle nesting site on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A sign stands near a protected sea turtle nesting area on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A protective fence surrounds a sea turtle nesting site on the beach in Huntington Beach, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic attorneys general from California and New York sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its plans to buy back offshore wind leases as President Donald Trump seeks to discourage the expansion of wind energy in favor of fossil fuels.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he is suing over removal of a project off his state's coast planned by Chicago-based Invenergy. The Trump administration said in June that it’s buying back the company’s U.S. offshore wind leases for four wind projects on the East and West coasts.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, meanwhile, led seven states in suits seeking to block the Invenergy deal and another proposal with Bluepoint Wind, which agreed in April to end a wind farm under development off the New York and New Jersey coast.
The deals would hand energy companies $1.4 billion in taxpayer dollars in exchange for the cancellation of multiple projects. ln all, the Trump administration has pledged nearly $4 billion to companies to walk away from projects across the country.
The Interior Department started buying back offshore wind leases in March after federal courts thwarted Trump’s efforts to stop offshore wind development through executive action.
In exchange for reimbursements of lease fees, companies are investing in fossil fuel projects and geothermal energy. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has said that companies "are shifting investment back toward dependable, secure energy infrastructure that can power our economy and lower utility costs.”
James called the deals illegal and said they will ultimately increase Americans’ electricity bills by sabotaging states’ ability to meet growing energy demands.
“Americans are facing increasing energy costs because this administration would rather pay off energy companies than let us build the new power sources we need,” James said in a statement. “These illegal backroom deals take money that should have gone toward lowering New Yorkers’ bills and hand it to fossil fuel projects in other states.”
Bonta said that as a national and global leader in the fight against climate change, California finds itself enmeshed in “avoidable and unnecessary battles with our own federal government” to advance climate action and move toward clean energy.
Trump, who often talks about his hatred of wind power, has said his goal is to not let any “windmills” be built. Offshore wind produces electricity cleanly. Oil, coal and natural gas emit carbon pollution when burned.
Bonta, speaking at a Climate Week event in New York City, said climate action needs to match the scope, speed and scale of the problem.
“Because we have to go to court and block an unlawful action by the Trump administration each time, it takes time. It slows the process down and we know we are running out of time and we need to be urgent and aggressive,” Bonta said Tuesday in remarks just before Trump addressed the U.N. General Assembly.
“We’re still all in, in California," Bonta said. "No matter what the Trump administration does, we’re going to push to participate in the climate action that is needed to meet this moment and to rise to the occasion."
Later in the day, Bonta was among the California and New York officials participating in a Climate Week panel about state leadership on wind energy. California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild said at the New York City Bar that the power to drive a transition away from fossil fuels still rests primarily with the states.
While Trump can slow it down and make it more expensive, Hochschild said, “he can’t put the genie back in the bottle.”
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President Doreen Harris said they are all confident they will ultimately succeed in court, however they need energy infrastructure in their states for a reliable grid.
“The reality is, even if successful, the question becomes who is going to invest,” Harris said. She added, “we just want to get back to building.”
Attorneys general in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont joined New York's suit.
McDermott reported from New York
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during an announcement of a lawsuit filed by New York and 21 other states challenging the federal government's new public charge rule, on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
FILE - California Attorney General Rob Bonta speaks during a press conference, Oct. 8, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Minh Connors, File)
FILE - Turbines are visible at Sunrise Wind offshore wind farm that is under construction off the coast of Montauk Point, New York, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File)
