3.8 magnitude earthquake strikes off coast of New England

(NEW YORK) — A guilty plea is expected Wednesday in the case of a secret Chinese police station operating in lower Manhattan.

The suspects in the case, Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping, were accused by prosecutors last year of working on behalf of China’s Ministry of Public Security in violation of the Espionage Act.

Chen is expected to plead guilty to a charge of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government. Lu is due in court next in February.

At the time the case was charged in April 2023, the FBI called it in an example of China’s “audacious activities” on U.S. soil.

The location in Chinatown claimed to be a nonprofit organization helping Chinese-Americans but federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, who brought the case, said it “appears to have had a more sinister use.”

Prosecutors said the secret police station was set up by Chinese counterintelligence operatives to harass and intimidate dissidents living in the United States.

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(NEW YORK) — The Christmas and New Year’s holiday period is expected to be the busiest on record for both air and road travel, according to AAA — continuing this year’s trend where every major travel period has set new records.

Here’s what you need to know before you head to the airport or hit the highway:

Air travel

The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen nearly 40 million travelers from Dec. 19 to Jan. 2 — a 6.2% increase from 2023.

The Federal Aviation Administration predicts Thursday, Dec. 19, will be the most crowded day to fly, followed by Friday, Dec. 27, and Friday, Dec. 20.

United is planning for its busiest holiday travel period ever, with 9.9 million passengers expected between Dec. 19 and Jan. 6. The airline said it’s adding almost 500 more flights per day during its holiday travel period.

United said it anticipates its busiest days to be: Friday, Dec. 20; Friday, Dec. 27; and Saturday, Dec. 28.

American Airlines said Friday, Dec. 27, and Friday, Dec. 20, are expected to be its busiest and second-busiest days respectively during its holiday period, which runs from Dec. 18 to Jan. 6.

American said it’ll serve more than 6.6 million bags of pretzels during its holiday travel period.

The cheapest days to fly are Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to Expedia. The busiest and most expensive days will be from Friday, Dec. 20, through Sunday, Dec. 22.

The most popular Christmas destinations in the U.S. are Las Vegas, New York City and Orlando, Florida, according to Hopper.

Airports in major cities are expected to be the most crowded in the mornings, between 8 a.m. and noon, according to Hopper.

Road travel

About 107 million people are forecast to drive to their holiday destinations between Dec. 21 and Jan. 1 — approximately 2.5 million more people than last year, according to AAA.

The busiest days to pick up a rental car will be Friday, Dec. 20, and Saturday, Dec. 21, according to AAA.

If you’re heading out the door on Dec. 20, the worst travel time is between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. and the best time is before 11 a.m., according to analytics company INRIX. On Dec. 21, the worst time to be on the road is between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.; the best time is before 2 p.m.

Traffic will be minimal on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, INRIX said.

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(LAS VEGAS) — The suspect who drove the rented Cybertruck that exploded outside of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on New Year’s Day has been identified as Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger, a U.S. Army Special Operations soldier on leave, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

Livelsberger was killed when the truck, which was filled with fireworks-style mortars and gas canisters, exploded around 8:40 a.m. PT. Seven people suffered minor injuries, officials said.

Investigators believe the explosion was intentional, but hadn’t determined a motive or how it was detonated as of Thursday afternoon, according to sources.

As they continue their investigation into the blast, a profile of Livelsberger is emerging from the Army and people who knew him.

Livelsberger’s wife told investigators her husband had been out of their Colorado Springs, Colorado, residence since around Christmas after a dispute over allegations of infidelity and said he would not hurt anyone, an official who had been briefed on the investigation told ABC News. Livelsberger allegedly supported President-elect Donald Trump, the official said.

Livelsberger enlisted in the Army as a Special Forces candidate and served on active duty from January 2006 to March 2011 then joined the National Guard that month and served until July 2012, followed by a stint in the Army Reserve from July to December 2012, according to the spokesperson. He went back on active duty in December 2012 as a Special Operations soldier, the spokesperson said.

He was on approved leave from the Army at the time of his death, according to U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

“USASOC is in full cooperation with federal and state law enforcement agencies, but as a matter of policy, will not comment on ongoing investigations,” the spokesperson said.

Livelsberger rented the Cybertruck using the car-sharing app Turo, the same app used to rent a truck by the suspect in the New Orleans attack on New Year’s Day, though investigators said they have not established any links between the two attacks.

Livelsberger told the truck’s owner that he was going camping at the Grand Canyon, the official said.

Tesla has been cooperating with the probe and provided investigators with data and other information, the company’s owner Elon Musk said.

ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report.

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