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USA Today
14-07-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Janae Shamp got axed from Arizona Senate GOP leadership. Now she's hitting back
Sen. Janae Shamp blames Senate President Warren Petersen for her dramatic demotion last month, saying he disrespected her and her conservative ideas. Last November, Shamp's fellow Republicans elected her as Senate majority leader, the No. 2 position in the Arizona Senate. A majority of the same group voted her out of the job last month. A second-term senator from Surprise, Shamp said the ouster followed months of poor treatment, like excluding her from budget meetings, ignoring her input and slighting Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, during his visit in April. "I was completely and totally boxed out from the very beginning," Shamp said in a July 9 phone interview with The Arizona Republic about her experience this year in Senate leadership, adding she could not explain Petersen's behavior toward her. Petersen, R-Gilbert, denied Shamp's allegations and said her actions alone caused most Republican senators to turn against her. "It wasn't me versus her," he said. "If it was, she wouldn't have been removed by a two-thirds vote." The hostile relationship between the two highlights the divisions among Republicans who are already looking to next year's elections. Shamp was booted from her leadership role on June 27 by the vote of her colleagues, just minutes after the Legislature adjourned sine die for the year following a chaotic budget process. The Republican senators replaced her with veteran lawmaker Sen. John Kavanagh, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who had taken a lead role in budget negotiations with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Who is Sen. Janae Shamp? Shamp, a surgery nurse often seen at the state Capitol wearing a cowboy hat, is a self-described constitutional conservative endorsed by now-President Donald Trump during her 2022 legislative campaign. After being reelected last year, she won the job of Senate majority leader by a vote of the 16 other Republican senators. She's used her time in office to push forward conservative legislation that often received public attention, sponsoring bills to charge doctors with a crime if they fail to try to save the life of a fetus in a botched abortion and to make doctors pay for reversing gender transition procedures. Hobbs vetoed both of those bills. Last year, Shamp sponsored the Senate version of the Arizona Border Invasion Act that Hobbs ultimately vetoed, a bill to make crossing the international border a state offense. Republicans passed a second version of the vetoed bill, referring it to the ballot. Voters approved the measure, Proposition 314, by a vote of nearly two-to-one. But its main provisions have not gone into effect, pending court approval to go into effect. Health care is one of Shamp's biggest priorities, and she sees the issue through a sharp, right-wing lens. She has remarked repeatedly on the campaign trail how she was fired from a nursing job for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. In 2023, she chaired the Arizona Senate's Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee, a two-day event criticized for providing unscientific information. Shamp said she's connected to Kennedy through two people she met in her first term, Dr. Peter McCullough and Kennedy's general counsel, Aaron Siri, who lives in Arizona. Both are well-known vaccine skeptics: McCullough had two of his certifications revoked by the American Board of Internal Medicine after he spread misinformation, including alleged dangers about COVID-19 vaccines, and Siri petitioned the federal Food and Drug Administration last year to revoke approval for the Hepatitis B and polio vaccines. "I'm not going to say I'm really very close, but I'm pretty close with HHS and with the Trump administration," she said. "I get invited to be in meetings, I get invited to be involved and I get requests for my input." Petersen: Shamp lacked experience Republican House and Senate members elected their leaders in November after maintaining their majority in each chamber in November's election. Rep. Steve Montenegro of Goodyear, an ally and seatmate of Shamp who also represents Legislative District 29 in the northwest Valley, became the new House speaker. Shamp said she heard from other senators that Petersen had been urging them to vote for Kavanagh as majority leader. Petersen acknowledged he had preferred Kavanagh for the majority leader position and that his choice wasn't personal. "It was literally just a matter of experience," he said. "She's never been a chairman. It was just her second term." Shamp has several allies in the Senate and reportedly won by one vote in the closed leadership meeting in November. Arizona Senate: Republicans shake up leadership team after contentious budget fights Shamp says she was made to look 'stupid' Shamp said she and Petersen hadn't gotten along even before she won the majority leader position. They never talked privately, she said, and she had never been a fan of his budget plans, which involved divvying up any surplus left over in budgets after all the basic requirements had been fulfilled and giving millions to each Republican lawmaker to spend as they saw fit. She would have favored pooling surplus funds for "tons of infrastructure projects that haven't been funded" and tackling public health problems, she said. She began writing a majority plan before the 2025 legislative session began, she said, but Petersen told her it was already being done by someone else and she'd get to proofread the document when it was finished. He relented, she said, "and that was probably the only part of my job of majority leader that I was truly allowed to do." She said she "never felt like I was part of the team" and sometimes wasn't given information she needed to run the Senate floor. "All I do is I get a script and I'm told like a monkey to read it," she said. She made occasional procedural mistakes, she believes made the whole Senate look bad because she was "never allowed to know" what was going on, she said. "Staff would belittle me when I would ask," she said, adding she once told a Senate secretary: "I feel like I keep getting set up to look stupid." Petersen roundly denied Shamp's claims of being ostracized from leadership talks or that he or Senate staff withheld information she needed. "Not accurate," he said. "She would come in late, or missed leadership meetings. But she was always invited to every meeting." Sen. T.J. Shope, a Coolidge Republican who has been in the Legislature since 2012 and serves as Senate president pro tempore, backed up Petersen's statement that Shamp was invited to leadership meetings but often came in late. However, Sen. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, said Shamp has always been "rocksteady" with other Senate members. "Majority Leader Shamp interacted with the Senators on and off the floor with great attention to their needs, no matter what the issues were," Gowan told the Republic in a text message. "And, it was a sad day for the Great State of Arizona when those members decided to move on from this great fighter!" Kennedy appearance didn't go as Shamp wanted Even "bringing" Kennedy to the state Legislature failed to win her "any kind of inclusion in the conversations about what we needed to do with budget and policy," she said. "All that did was literally get me called a b----." Kennedy had embarked on a tour of three Southwest states in April to tout his Make America Healthy Again program and support a bill in Arizona to remove certain ultra-processed foods and dyes from school meals. Hobbs ultimately signed the bill. "It was an incredible day," Shamp said of Kennedy's April 8 visit. "It should have been better." She was "very disappointed" that earlier in the day, Tom Homan, Trump's border czar, addressed senators and House members in a joint meeting on the floor of the state House. But she said she was denied a request to have Kennedy introduced on the floor of the state Senate. The meeting was instead held in a hearing room. She suspected the reason was the personality problem between her and Petersen. Later, she was told a senate staffer whom she would not identify called her a "b----" because she wouldn't allow anyone in her office during a private meeting that day with Kennedy. "I was given strict instructions that no one — no one — would be involved in this meeting, and that if the Secretary decided he wanted to take pictures with folks, that he would do that." Instead of insults, she said, she should have been praised for "elevating the health of our state." Asked whether he had denied Shamp's request to host Kennedy on the Senate floor, Petersen said he hadn't and checked with his staff to see what happened, later saying Shamp apparently had never put in a request. Perhaps she had asked to host a press conference on the Senate floor, he said. But he added that he had no evidence of that, and even if so, press conferences are never allowed on the Senate floor. Shamp exposed rift with budget votes Under Montenegro's leadership, the House ultimately passed two doomed budget plans for the state's fiscal year 2025-2026 strictly on GOP party lines. The House speaker played the role of antagonist to Petersen during the final budget negotiations, claiming the House plans were more conservative than the Senate plan. Shamp sided with him instead of the Senate president. The proposed House budgets spent less money and included conservative measures pushed by the Arizona Freedom Caucus, like a ban on in-state tuition at public universities for undocumented residents in spite of a voter-approved, 2022 law legalizing the lower tuition when students live in the state, regardless of immigration status. Petersen and Kavanagh negotiated their budget with Hobbs, other Senate Republicans, and Democrats in the Senate and House. They sought to please the Republican majority but crucially, present Hobbs with something she would sign before the June 30 deadline for a spending plan. Shamp declined to allocate her share of the surplus money and was denied information about what was in the bills needed to enact the budget and the fiscal spreadsheets, she said. She retweeted a post on by House Appropriations Chair Rep. David Livingston stating "the Governor, with the help of a RINO Senate President, is pushing a Democrat Budget." Shamp voted against the Senate plan with several other senators who didn't like the plan or the process, including Sen. Jake Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican who is the Freedom Caucus chair. Like Livingston, a major hang-up for Shamp was the lack of preparation for the likely impact on Arizona's budget because of federal Medicaid cuts. "It's called fiscal responsibility," she said. Sen. Frank Carroll, a Sun City West Republican who was elected majority whip in November, was also one of the five GOP senators who voted against the first Senate budget plan with Shamp. He kept his leadership job. Shamp and all but two Republican senators voted for the final, $17.6 billion Senate budget plan on June 27, which was similar to its first plan but included additions by the House, like construction projects on State Route 347 south of metro Phoenix. Hoffman voted against the final plan, and Shope — who voted for the first plan — was out of town. Hobbs signed the budget in a July 1 ceremony, noting that the plan wouldn't cover the federal cuts in Arizona. A new majority leader: 5 moments that defined Arizona's topsy-turvy 2025 legislative session Shope: Leadership means 'you kind of serve two masters' Shope, the Senate president pro tempore, believed most Republican senators voted to remove her from leadership not because of her resistance to the overall Senate budget, but because she had seconded motions to include conservative provisions from the House budget plans. Hobbs was sure to reject a plan with those provisions. But even worse, some members felt voting against the provisions would make them "look bad" to some conservatives, meaning they could be targeted for replacement in next year's primary election, Shope said. Her fundraising efforts for the Arizona Conservative Policy Alliance PAC have also been a source of contention for Petersen because it helps fund campaigns for Republican legislative candidates in primary elections. The Arizona Senate Victory Fund PAC, which Petersen helps manage, only funds candidates in the general election to avoid appearing biased toward any Republicans in the primaries. "I think that the president was probably kind of almost personally offended" by her work on the Arizona Conservative Policy Alliance PAC, Shope said. "I think that what people don't realize is the amount of free agency that you lose whenever you decide that you're going to become part of leadership," Shope said. "You kind of serve two masters. You have obviously your constituents, but you also have a caucus of members." What's next for Shamp? Petersen said that after she was stripped of her leadership role, he offered her the chair of the Senate Education Committee, saying he would relocate the current chair, Sen. David Farnsworth. Shamp declined, believing she should be the chair of the Health and Human Services Committee instead of its current chair, Sen. Carine Werner, R-Scottsdale. Shamp said she would vote the same way on the budget again, despite the "retribution," and said she would not have to worry about the same "restraints" now that she's not in leadership. She'll keep working on the issues she believes are important and continue to fundraise for the PAC to ensure quality Republican candidates for the Legislature next year, she said. An "activist arm" in the GOP has supported "some pretty bad candidates" in the past, she said. "Poor, good, solid conservatives were left to fend for themselves in these bloody, ugly primaries because you've got Freedom Caucus and Turning Point money coming and helping. How is that fair?" she asked. People have told her "you need to be the next Senate president" if Petersen resigns as expected to focus on his run for state attorney general next year, she said. But she said she has no higher political aspirations. "I just want to do what's best and what's right for my beloved state," she said. Reach the reporter at rstern@ or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hancock Whitney (HWC) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week's Release
Hancock Whitney (HWC) is expected to deliver a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended June 2025. This widely-known consensus outlook gives a good sense of the company's earnings picture, but how the actual results compare to these estimates is a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 15, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise. This holding company of Whitney Bank and Hancock Bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.34 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +2.3%. Revenues are expected to be $371.26 million, up 3.2% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). For Hancock Whitney, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +3.42%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #2. So, this combination indicates that Hancock Whitney will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Hancock Whitney would post earnings of $1.28 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.38, delivering a surprise of +7.81%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times. An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Hancock Whitney appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Hancock Whitney Corporation (HWC) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pinnacle Financial (PNFP) Earnings Expected to Grow: What to Know Ahead of Next Week's Release
Wall Street expects a year-over-year increase in earnings on higher revenues when Pinnacle Financial (PNFP) reports results for the quarter ended June 2025. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 15, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call, it's worth handicapping the probability of a positive EPS surprise. This regional bank operator is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.92 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +17.8%. Revenues are expected to be $492.81 million, up 34.5% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.05% lower over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). For Pinnacle Financial, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +3.66%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #4. So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Pinnacle Financial will beat the consensus EPS estimate. While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Pinnacle Financial would post earnings of $1.82 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.90, delivering a surprise of +4.40%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates four times. An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Pinnacle Financial doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. (PNFP) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
News.com.au
26-06-2025
- News.com.au
‘Just end him': Four Year 5 girls' sinister plot to kill male classmate, fake his suicide
Four fifth-grade girls in Arizona devised a plot to kill a male classmate and make it look like a suicide – with one of the students caught smiling and laughing as she made excuses to investigators, police said. A newly released report from the Surprise Police Department revealed the disturbing facts behind the arrest of a group of girls, ages 10 and 11, who were set to stab a boy to death during their lunch break at the Legacy Traditional School in October, per The New York Post. The suspects had agreed to 'just end him' in the schoolyard over cheating allegations following a break-up, AZ Family reported. Each girl was allegedly given a role as they planned to lure the boy to an outdoor bathroom and stab him in the stomach, according to the police report. One was tasked with bringing a knife, while another would forge a suicide note to make it appear as though the boy had taken his own life. Another girl would serve as a lookout while the fourth would carry out the stabbing. The would-be murderer was also instructed to wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints on the knife. The girls set the date to enact the plan on October 1, 2024, but some other students had overheard the details of the murder plot and informed school officials before it happened. All four students were then arrested by Surprise Police and charged with threatening and misdemeanour disorderly conduct. Three of the girls showed remorse when confronted by police and school administrators, but officials noted that the fourth girl would start smiling and laughing when coming up with excuses over the murder plot. Surprise Police said the girls were released to their parents following their arrest and suspended from school with expulsion pending. The department said it does not plan to share further details about the incident. School officials did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment. The twisted plot is reminiscent of the 2014 'Slender Man' stabbing, in which Wisconsin 12-year-old girls Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier lured their friend, Payton Leutner, to a park after a sleepover. In a savage attack that aimed to please the aforementioned horror movie character, Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier cheered on.
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Arizona police uncover chilling 'murder plot by 5th grade girls against cheating boyfriend'
A group of fifth grade girls planned to murder their male classmate after he allegedly cheated on and broke up with one of them, police said. The four female students at a K-8 charter school in Surprise, Arizona, planned to stab the boy in the stomach and leave a phony suicide note, according to a police report obtained by AZFamily. The students, aged 10 to 11-years-old, hatched the scheme while at a lunch table during recess at Legacy Traditional School's West Surprise campus on October 1, 2024, the report claimed. Police said each girl had been assigned a role in the chilling plot. One would bring the knife, while another would write the suicide note to make it appear as though the boy ended his own life. The third girl would stand as a lookout, while the fourth would stab him to death. The plan was to lure him to an outside bathroom on the north side of the school building, according to police. The girls even planned to wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints on the murder weapon, the report said. The plot was foiled after another student overheard the plan and heard one of the girls say they wanted to, 'just end him', according to police. One of the students who overheard told their parent, who then contacted Assistant Principal Jerod Burleson. Burleson, who has been employed at the school since 2023, told the school resource officer that an eyewitness had heard, 'a group of students planning to kill a student at school,' the police report said. The next morning, on October 2, the girls came to the school's front office with their parents. Their bags were searched and they were individually questioned with their parents present. All four children were arrested on charges of threatening and disorderly conduct, both of which were misdemeanor level crimes. They were charged as juveniles. Three of the girls showed remorse, but the fourth kept smiling and laughing while making excuses for what she had done, according to the report. Daily Mail approached Legacy Traditional School for further comment. Surprise Police told the New York Post that the girls were released to their parents after their arrest and were suspended pending expulsion. AZCentral confirmed that one of the students involved participated in a juvenile diversion program as an alternative to court proceedings. This case bears some similarity to the 2014 'Slender Man' stabbing, when two 12-year-old Wisconsin girls lured their friend, also 12, into the woods and stabbed her over a dozen times. This case bears some similarity to the 2014 'Slender Man' stabbing, when two 12-year-old Wisconsin girls lured their friend, also 12, into the woods and stabbed her over a dozen times. Earlier this year, a judge made the controversial decision to initiate the release of Morgan Geyser, one of the girls who pleaded guilty to the stabbing. The case also drew comparisons to the Netflix show Adolescence, in which a 13-year-old boy stabs a female classmate to death after being radicalized by content viewed online. Child psychology experts have suggested that the girls involved in the alleged plot may have been exposed to inappropriate content on the internet and cautioned parents against allowing their children to have unfettered access. 'We should never ignore or dismiss delinquent behavior by young people, but we should address it with effective, evidence-based and promising interventions,' Liz Ryan, administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, told AZCentral.
