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Politics

A big share of Republicans need Trump to stay head of the get together, CNBC survey reveals

US President Donald Trump looks on after presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Celtics basketball legend Bob Cousy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on August 22, 2019.

Almond Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

A CNBC poll conducted in the days leading up to the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump found that a large segment of Republicans want him to remain party leader, but the majority of Americans want him out of politics.

The CNBC All-America Economic Survey shows that 54% of Americans want Trump “completely removed from politics”. That was the opinion of 81% of Democrats and 47% of Independents, but only 26% of Republicans.

When it comes to Republicans, 74% want him to stay active in some way, including 48% who want him to stay head of the Republican Party, 11% who want him to start a third party, and 12% who who say he should remain active in politics, but not as party leader.

“When we talk about Donald Trump’s future, the poll right now shows that he still has that strong core support in his own party that really wants him to continue to be its leader,” said Jay Campbell, an associate at Hart Research and the democratic pollster for the poll.

But Micah Roberts, the poll’s Republican pollster and partner with Public Opinion Strategies, emphasized the change from Trump as president. Pre-election polls regularly showed that Trump has a GOP approval rating of around 90%, which means that at least some Republicans have deviated from Trump.

The online poll of 1,000 Americans across the country has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%. It was conducted February 2-7 ahead of Trump’s Senate riot and sparking the January 6th riot in the Capitol. In the unlikely event of a conviction, the Senate could prevent Trump from ever holding public office again.

The poll shows that Trump continues to enjoy strong support among non-college Americans, a key population group for the GOP: 89% of the group want him to stay in politics, including 52% who want him to stay head of the Republican Party . That’s the highest percentage of any group and a potential red flag for Republican Party leaders if they vote to condemn Trump.

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Business

Moderna asks FDA to authorize 5 further doses per Covid vaccine vial to hurry distribution, supply tells CNBC

A health care worker holds a vial of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination station operated by SOMOS Community Care during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in New York on January 29, 2021 .

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Moderna has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for permission to fill their Covid-19 vaccine bottles with up to five additional doses to help clear a manufacturing bottleneck, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The change would allow Moderna to fill 15 cans into vials of the same size, now cleared for 10, which eases the pressure on the manufacturing process known as filling / finishing, said the person who refused to named because the application is not public yet.

The availability of Covid-19 vaccines has caused frustration since their approval in the US in mid-December. While the pace of administration has increased to an average of more than 1 million a day, the limited supply has hampered states’ ability to operate mass vaccination centers. By Friday, the US had distributed 49.2 million doses and 27.9 million had been given, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We have problems making these mRNA vaccines,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and a physician at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital. “We have up to 1.2 million doses a day when we need 3 million doses a day.”

The FDA declined to comment and asked questions to the company. Moderna did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The move from Moderna came after Pfizer requested and received a change in emergency approval from the FDA to specify that the Covid-19 vaccine bottles contain six doses instead of five after pharmacists determined that it had a bonus dose the correct syringes could be extracted. Pfizer then said it would ship fewer vials to the US, but the same number of doses specified in its contracts.

Moderna vials have also been found to contain a bonus dose, but a policy change is being sought to add volume to the vials.

The bottleneck is not the vials themselves, but the manufacturing capacity to fill the vials. The manufacturing filling / finishing process must be performed under aseptic conditions to ensure contamination does not occur and the capacity is high.

Companies have begun to form manufacturing partnerships that focus on this step in the process to increase production. Novartis announced on Friday that it has signed an initial vial fill agreement for BioNTech, Pfizer’s partner in Europe, for the Covid-19 vaccine.

“We expect this to be the first in a series of such agreements,” said Steffen Lang, head of technical operations at Novartis.

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Business

Utah Jazz proprietor Ryan Smith: CNBC interview

Gail Miller, owner and chairman of the Larry H. Miller group of companies and Utah Jazz, announced today that they have reached definitive agreements to sell a controlling stake in Utah Jazz and other sports to technology entrepreneur Ryan Smith.

Melissa Majchrzak | National Basketball Association | Getty Images

Subscribe to CNBC Pro to Read the full Q&A with Qualtrics CEO and new owner of the Utah Jazz, Ryan Smith.

Ryan Smith, the new owner of Utah Jazz, says he’s still not sure what kind of owner he’ll be, but he already knows his focus will be on improving the fan and gaming experiences.

Smith, 42, officially joined the Sports Brotherhood after the National Basketball Association approved his $ 1.6 billion purchase of Jazz on Friday. Qualtrics Co-Founder and CEO will provide final decision-making for the team’s business and basketball operations.

The new group of owners also adds Atlassian co-founders Mike Cannon-Brookes and Ryan Sweeney of venture capital firm Accel as minority partners.

In an interview with CNBC Pro’s “A View from the Top,” Smith said he had no plans to go behind the scenes. Unlike other NBA owners, however, running jazz won’t be his full-time occupation. Qualtrics will be spun off from SAP early next year, less than two years after the German software giant took over the company. Smith says he expects it to be “a big company”.

“I think I’ll be practical,” Smith told CNBC’s Alex Sherman. “But we have phenomenal leadership. We have Dennis Lindsey, a world class general manager, and Quin Snyder, who is one of the best coaches in the league. There are some owners who do everything they do full time. And that am not me. ” I’m still very, very deeply involved with Qualtrics. “

Prior to buying the Jazz, Smith said he was researching the purchase of several NBA franchises, including Minnesota Timberwolves. The chatter among sports bankers familiar with the process suggests Timberwolves owner Glenn Taylor is considering keeping the team for the time being.

“There are still a few minority pieces,” Smith said of minor NBA team involvements. “You will see them come around.”

Smith said he had a chat with fellow NBA owners with a tech background, including Mark Cuban, owner of Dallas Mavericks and Steve Ballmer, owner of Los Angeles Clippers, formerly CEO of Microsoft, prior to the purchase. Both are among the most visible team owners at NBA games. Like Cubans and Ballmer, Smith said he planned to continue sitting at court.

“I’ve had a unique view because I’ve spoken to Mark about it five or a few times over the years,” said Smith. “And I’ve met a lot of other owners in the league just because this was my passion. But they gave me different advice. Nobody ever said that you have to do it that way.” Everyone has their own style. “

Smith said he believes his basketball insights will help jazz align better with a technology and social media league.

“I understand basketball,” he said. “I get basketball. I play basketball three days a week. There is the basketball side and the business side. Each one is equally interesting to me. One from an experience standpoint and one from an understanding standpoint.”

When asked what jazz fans can expect from his property, Smith replied, “You will see it. You are already seeing it. You know me – many of them do.”

“I’m just swapping places,” said Smith of the seats in the yard next to previous owner Gail Miller. “But I have to do a paycheck now.”

read this entire CNBC Pro interview with Ryan Smith.

WATCH: That inspired Ryan Smith to own Utah Jazz