Utah's Noon News

Two US astronauts are sitting aboard a space capsule and rocket designed the SpaceX company. If the weather permits, they soon will be the first astronauts from the US to travel into space from US soil onboard a US built rocket since 2011.

We are learning more today two Utah County businesses that were earlier called out by county leaders after coronavirus outbreaks happened in their workplace. Today, the county attorney says the businesses were not acting irresponsibly and the county health department information that said employees were forced to come to work sick wasn't true.

The "Utah Leads Together" plan is about to get an update. Governor Gary Herbert will be unveiling new guidelines that focus on the most vulnerable populations during the coronavirus pandemic.

The CEO of a Utah County business is firing back about allegations of 'recklessly' exposing employees to COVID-19. Nick Greer, is the CEO of Built Bar, a protein bar maker, which has a production facility in American Fork. He says their team outlined coronavirus concerns back in March.

Most of Utah will be transitioning from the Orange phase in the Governor's pandemic plan to the Yellow "low risk" phase starting tomorrow morning. That means some of the restrictions will be relaxed. The Governor's eviction moratorium is also expiring.

COVID-19 restrictions are causing state tax revenues to plummet and may force lawmakers to call another special session. State Senator Todd Weiler says they're dealing with financial circumstances that no one could have predicted.

Police in Utah County are investigating an officer-involved shooting that happened in Orem Friday night. Plus, the latest on the coronavirus, and the number of Utah's in the hospital with COVID-19.

The state of Utah is firing back over criticism that it paid too much for an app to help residents track coronavirus exposure. So far over 40-thousand people have downloaded the app.

A large number of police officers are gathering in Midvale, Utah near State Street and 7800 South. There are reports of shots being fired in what could be a domestic issue at an apartment complex. In other news, Utah is starting to allow businesses to reopen but many new rules are in place to help stop the coronavirus from spiking again.

There could be some immediate changes coming to Utah state parks after crowds overwhelmed some locations after pandemic restrictions were relaxed. The changes could include limiting camping on some beaches to make more room for day use.

The Utah legislature continues its special session with the state Senate passing a bill to protect businesses from liability if somebody catches COVID-19 on their premises. Bill sponsor Kirk Cullimore says that could improve business cooperation with health officials.

Intermountain Healthcare is joining the federal effort to see if donated plasma from people who already recovered from the coronavirus can be used to treat current patients. As part of the effort a team conducted Utah’s first plasma transfusion of a COVID-19 patient at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray.

Health officials say nearly half of the men tested at the Homeless Resource Center in South Salt Lake, have COVID-19. They're reporting a total of 94 cases, and say four people have been hospitalized. The others have been taken to one of several isolation facilities set up by the Health Department, and the homeless resource center is not taking any new clients right now.

Utah's department of Environmental Quality is looking to see if waste water can be tested to get a better idea of how fast the coronavirus is spreading in communities.

Utah state lawmakers will be holding a virtual special session to discuss items related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the issues include how to deal with taxes being collected later in the year, and who has authority to issue stay-at-home and quarantine orders.

Real Salt Lake executives say they've been working on a plan to keep their soccer organization going, but they just found out they will not be able to get financial help through the Federal CARES program. That means they're going to start reducing the pay of all their executives and staff members and some employees will be let go or furloughed. Real hopes that once the league is able to start playing games again they can start bringing staff back on.

The State of Utah is turning the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy into an alternative care site in case Utah's hospitals become overwhelmed with coronavirus cases. At this point the extra hospital beds are not needed, and the state says they hope it stays that way.

Around 6.6 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week alone, setting a new record.

Are Utahns concerned about coronavirus? Absolutely. A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll shows 87 percent are either very or somewhat concerned. Nearly three fourths of the people who responded say they haven't been able to buy groceries and 44 percent have either lost jobs or hours. Kearns resident Breanna Rivers says she and her husband were laid off on the same day.

Veterinarians are treating their small, furry patients via web cam.