By MICHAEL CASEY and PATRICK WHITTLE

BOSTON (AP) — A Boston-area man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for the grisly murder of his wife, who disappeared nearly three years ago and whose body has never been found.

Brian Walshe was convicted Monday of first-degree murder in the killing of Ana Walshe. The sentence carries no possibility of parole.

He pleaded guilty in November to misleading police and illegally disposing of a body after admitting he had dismembered her body and disposed of it in dumpster. He said he did so only after panicking when he found she had died in bed.

Judge Diane Freniere called Walshe’s crimes “barbaric and incomprehensible” and she chastised him for “deceitful and manipulative behavior.” Walshe showed no emotion as the sentence was read.

Before the sentencing, Ana Walshe’s sister Aleksandra Dimitrijevic told the court about how the death has devastated her family, especially because they cannot have a proper burial without a body.

“I struggle with the grief that comes without warning, hoping every morning that this is just a terrible dream,” she said. “The most painful part of this loss is knowing her children must now grow up without their mother’s hand to hold. They now face a lifetime of milestones, big and small, where her absence will be deeply and painfully felt.”

The couple’s three young children are in state custody.

Walshe was also sentenced to 19 to 25 years for witness intimidation and two to three years for improper disposal of a body. Those sentences are to run consecutive to his life sentence, the judge ruled.

Walshe’s lawyer, Kelli Porges, described the consecutive sentencing — which prosecutors requested due to the severity of the crimes — as “excessive.”

Ana Walshe, a real estate agent who immigrated from Serbia, was last seen early Jan. 1, 2023, after a New Year’s Eve dinner at the couple’s home.

When initially questioned by investigators, Walshe said his wife had been called to Washington, D.C., for a work emergency. But witnesses testified there was no evidence Ana Walshe took a ride service to the airport or boarded a flight. Walshe didn’t contact her employer until Jan. 4.

During the trial, prosecutors leaned heavily on digital evidence found on devices connected to Walshe, including online searches for “dismemberment and best ways to dispose of a body,” “how long before a body starts to smell” and “hacksaw best tool to dismember.”

Investigators also found searches on a laptop that included “how long for someone missing to inherit,” “how long missing to be dead,” and “can you throw away body parts,” prosecutors told the jury.

Surveillance video also showed a man resembling Walshe throwing what appeared to be heavy trash bags into a dumpster not far from the couple’s home. A subsequent search of a trash processing facility near his mother’s home uncovered bags containing a hatchet, hammer, sheers, hacksaw, towels and a protective Tyvek suit, cleaning agents, a Prada purse, boots like the ones Ana Walshe was last seen wearing and a COVID-19 vaccination card with her name.

Prosecutors told the jury that the Massachusetts State Crime Laboratory examined some of the items and found Ana and Brian Walshe’s DNA on the Tyvek suit and Ana Walshe’s DNA on the hatchet, hacksaw and other items.

Prosecutors floated several possible motives for the killing.

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An insurance executive testified that Brian Walshe was the sole beneficiary of Ana Walshe’s $1 million life insurance policy, suggesting a financial motive. But prosecutors also portrayed a marriage that was falling apart; Brian Walshe was confined at their home in the affluent coastal community of Cohasset, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Boston, awaiting sentencing on an art fraud case. Ana Walshe meanwhile commuted from their home to Washington, D.C., where she worked.

The year before she died, his wife had started an affair, details of which were shared in court by her boyfriend William Fastow. Brian Walshe’s attorney denied that his client knew about the affair.

In his opening, Walshe’s attorney, Larry Tipton, argued it was not a murder case but what he called a “sudden unexplained death.” He said the couple loved each other and were planning for the future.

But Walshe’s defense never called a witness and Brian Walshe declined to testify.

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine.

By PAUL WISEMAN and ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation slowed unexpectedly last month according to data that was delayed, and likely distorted, by the government shutdown.

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The Labor Department reported Thursday that its consumer price index rose 2.7% in November from a year earlier. Yet, year-over-year inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, and Americans are dismayed by the high cost of living.

The report was delayed eight days by the federal government’s 43-day shutdown, which also prevented the Labor Department from compiling overall numbers for consumer prices and core inflation in October. Thursday’s report gave investors, businesses and policymakers their first look at CPI since the September numbers were released on Oct. 24.

Consumer prices had risen 3% in September from a year earlier, and forecasters had expected the November CPI to match that year-over-year increase.

“It’s likely a bit distorted,’’ said Diane Swonk, chief economist at the tax and consulting firm KPMG. “The good news is that it’s cooling. We’ll take a win when we can get it.’’

Still, Swonk added: “The data is truncated, and we just don’t know how much of it to trust.’’ By disrupting the economy – especially government contracting – the shutdown may have contributed to a cooling in prices, she said.

Energy prices, driven up by sharply higher fuel oil prices, rose 4.2% in November. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation rose 2.6%, compared with a 3% year-over-year gain in September and the lowest since March 2021.

U.S. inflation remains stubbornly high, partly because of President Donald Trump’s decision to impose double-digit taxes on imports from almost every country on earth along with targeted tariffs on specific products like steel, aluminum and autos.

The president’s tariffs have so far proved less inflationary than economists feared. But they do put upward pressure on prices and complicate matters at the Fed, which is trying to decide whether to keep cutting its benchmark interest rate to support a sputtering job market or whether to hold off until inflationary pressures ease. The central bank last week decided to reduce the rate for the third time this year, but Fed officials signaled that they expect just one cut in 2026.

Kay Haigh, global co-head of fixed income and liquidity solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, warned that the November numbers were “noisy … The canceling of the October report makes month-on-month comparisons impossible, for example, while the truncated information-gathering process given the shutdown could have caused systematic biases in the data.

“The Fed will instead focus on the December CPI released in mid-January, just two weeks before its next meeting, as a more accurate bellwether for inflation.”

Trump delivered a politically charged speech Wednesday that aired live during prime time by network television, seeking to pin the blame for economic challenges on Democrats.

The speech was a rehash of his recent messaging that has so far been unable to calm public anxiety about the rising cost of groceries, housing, utilities and other basic goods.

As the holiday season approaches, Americans dipping into savings, scouring for bargains and feeling like the overall economy is sputtering, a new AP-NORC poll finds.

The vast majority of U.S. adults say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for groceries, electricity and holiday gifts in recent months, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Roughly half of Americans say it’s harder than usual to afford the things they want to give as holiday gifts, and similar numbers are delaying big purchases or cutting back on nonessential purchases more than they would normally.

Trump has promised an economic boom, yet inflation has stayed elevated and the job market has weakened sharply in the wake of his import taxes.

Trump’s tariffs are taking a toll on Wolverine Worldwide, which makes footwear brands like Merrell and Saucony. Facing extra tariff costs of $10 million this year and $55 million in 2026, the Rockford, Michigan, company had to increase prices between 5% and 8% on some products in June, and will have to raise prices again next year. It’s put a freeze on hiring and capital investments.

The company is getting squeezed even as it diversifies its sourcing network away from China, which now makes less than 10% of its products. During Trump’s first term, Wolverine shifted production to Vietnam. Now it’s moving to Bangladesh, Cambodia and Indonesia.

The problem isn’t just the cost of the tariffs. It’s the uncertainty caused by the unpredictable way that Trump rolls them out. “From a business leader’s perspective, it’s one thing if there’s bad news,” said Wolverine CEO Christopher Hufnagel. “Just tell me what the bad news is, and I’ll go work to try to solve for it. It’s the uncertainty of how it actually plays out that causes so much trouble because then we’re modeling all these different scenarios and it seems like things can change in the middle of the night.”

AP Retail Writer Anne D’Innocenzio contributed to this story from New York.

Blood-soaked bandages, bodily fluids and body parts have been found mixed in with waste and recycling products at the Ramsey/Washington Recycling and Energy Center in Newport, according to the facility.

Medical facilities in the area have been improperly disposing of the infectious waste, according to facility management. Those items, as defined by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, include any sort of waste “that poses a human health and environmental risk due to its biological characteristics.” That includes bodily fluids, tissues and body parts — all of which the Recycling and Energy Center said it has received.

“This is unacceptable and poses significant health and safety hazards to waste workers, including those at the R&E Center,” according to a statement put out this week. “It also poses risks to staff at the medical facilities where this material is being improperly managed.”

Under Minnesota law, infectious waste is prohibited from being sent to municipal waste facilities, according to the Newport facility. Medical centers that accumulate infectious waste are supposed to separate the waste, store it away properly and dispose of it using authorized methods and vendors in accordance with their infectious waste management plan.

Alongside the health and safety risks, finding infectious waste in the mix slows down operations for workers — and can be very disturbing.

“Infectious waste is dangerous because it can contain pathogens, harmful chemicals, and sharps that can transmit diseases and contaminate the environment,” Recycling & Energy Center director Sam Holl said. “Proper management and disposal of this type of waste is critical for the mental and physical health and safety of our staff, their families and our environment. ”

Who’s to blame?

At least 12 major hospitals and outpatient clinics in the region have not followed the proper protocol, according to the Newport facility. Management declined to name which medical facilities have contributed as investigations are ongoing through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Health.

“Most facilities we have reached out to have expressed the intent to properly dispose of infectious waste and have indicated that they are working on plans to correct procedures,” Holl said. “Facilities have also been in contact with the MPCA, MDH, and their waste haulers. However, this remains an ongoing issue.”

When the Recycling & Energy Center receives a load that looks to contain infectious waste, it notifies the medical facility, along with the Pollution Control agency, the Department of Health, the waste hauler and counties at the same time. But that routine has not been adequate.

“The usual notifications do not appear to be curbing the flow of infectious waste we are receiving,” Ramsey County Commissioner MaryJo McGuire said in the facility’s statement.

McGuire also serves as board chair for the Ramsey/Washington Recycling and Energy Center.

“The frequency of these incidents has created significant hazards, emotional strain and increased operational costs,” McGuire said. “Our shared priority must be protecting staff safety while maintaining compliance with all standards.”

‘Eager for their attention’

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According to Holl, all of the medical facilities that handle infectious waste have management plans in place. Those plans are not being followed consistently.

Holl said he is unsure why there has been an uptick in deliveries of infectious waste since November.

“Proper management and disposal of infectious waste requires sustained focus by medical facilities,”  Holl said. “We are eager for their attention to this matter, both now and in the future. … Proper disposal and compliance will require increased, ongoing monitoring and training at these facilities.”

The Recycling and Energy Center is working with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Health to address the issue.

BY SAMY MAGDY AND AHMED HATEM

LUXOR, Egypt (AP) — Egypt on Sunday revealed the revamp of two colossal statues of a prominent pharaoh in the southern city of Luxor, the latest in the government’s archaeological events that aim at drawing more tourists to the country.

The giant alabaster statues, known as the Colossi of Memnon, were reassembled in a renovation project that lasted about two decades. They represent Amenhotep III, who ruled ancient Egypt about 3,400 years ago.

“Today we are celebrating, actually, the finishing and the erecting of these two colossal statues,” Mohamed Ismail, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told The Associated Press ahead of the ceremony.

Attempts to revive a prestigious temple

Ismail said the colossi are of great significance to Luxor, a city known for its ancient temples and other antiquities. They’re also an attempt to “revive how this funerary temple of king Amenhotep III looked like a long time ago,” Ismail said.

Amenhotep III, one of the most prominent pharaohs, ruled during the 500 years of the New Kingdom, which was the most prosperous time for ancient Egypt. The pharaoh, whose mummy is showcased at a Cairo museum, ruled between 1390–1353 BC, a peaceful period known for its prosperity and great construction, including his mortuary temple, where the Colossi of Memnon are located, and another temple, Soleb, in Nubia.

The colossi were toppled by a strong earthquake in about 1200 BC that also destroyed Amenhotep III’s funerary temple, said Mohamed Ismail, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

They were fragmented and partly quarried away, with their pedestals dispersed. Some of their blocks were reused in the Karnak temple, but archaeologists brought them back to rebuild the colossi, according to the Antiquities Ministry.

In late 1990s, an Egyptian German mission, chaired by German Egyptologist Hourig Sourouzian, began working in the temple area, including the assembly and renovation of the colossi.

“This project has in mind … to save the last remains of a once-prestigious temple,” she said.

A Pharoah facing the rising sun

The statues show Amenhotep III seated with hands resting on his thighs, with their faces looking eastward toward the Nile and the rising sun. They wear the nemes headdress surmounted by the double crowns and the pleated royal kilt, which symbolizes the pharaoh’s divine rule.

Two other small statues on the pharaoh’s feet depict his wife, Tiye.

The colossi — 14.5 meters (48 feet) and 13.6 meters (45 feet) respectively — preside over the entrance of the king’s temple on the western bank of the Nile. The 35-hectare (86-acre) complex is believed to be the largest and richest temple in Egypt and is usually compared to the temple of Karnak, also in Luxor.

The colossi were hewn in Egyptian alabaster from the quarries of Hatnub, in Middle Egypt. They were fixed on large pedestals with inscriptions showing the name of the temple, as well as the quarry.

Unlike other monumental sculptures of ancient Egypt, the colossi were partly compiled with pieces sculpted separately, which were fixed into each statue’s main monolithic alabaster core, the ministry said.

Eye on tourism

Sunday’s unveiling in Luxor came just six weeks after the inauguration of the long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum, the centerpiece of the government’s bid to boost the country’s tourism industry and bring cash into the troubled economy. The mega project is located near the famed Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx.

The tourism sector, which depends heavily on Egypt’s rich pharaonic artifacts, has suffered during years of political turmoil and violence following the 2011 uprising. In recent years, the sector has started to recover after the coronavirus pandemic and amid Russia’s war on Ukraine — both countries are major sources of tourists visiting Egypt.

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“This site is going to be a point of interest for years to come,” said Tourism and Antiquities Minister Sherif Fathy, who attended the unveiling ceremony. “There are always new things happening in Luxor.”

A record number of about 15.7 million tourists visited Egypt in 2024, contributing about 8% of the country’s GDP, according to official figures.

Fathy, the minister,has said about 18 million tourists are expected to visit the country this year, with authorities hoping for 30 million visitors annually by 2032.

Magdy reported from Cairo.