diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 445457c..e85c79d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -6,10 +6,7 @@ To take advantage of the dev environment that is already configured, you need to
 
 Install [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/installation/)
 
-Install Docker Compose
-```sh
-$ pip install docker-compose
-```
+Install [Docker Compose](https://docs.docker.com/compose/install/)
 
 Clone the repository.
 ```sh
@@ -24,19 +21,19 @@ $ cp secrets.json.template secrets.json
 
 Warm up the MariaDB database. This only needs to be done when the database container doesn't exist yet. This will take ~15 seconds once the image has been pulled.
 ```sh
-$ docker-compose up -d db
+$ docker compose up -d db
 ```
 
 Start the app and run the migrations.
 ```sh
 # run the migrations
-$ docker-compose run --rm manage migrate
+$ docker compose run --rm manage migrate
 
 # start the app
-$ docker-compose up -d app
+$ docker compose up -d app
 
 # Optional: add a superuser in order to log in to the admin interface
-$ docker-compose run --rm manage createsuperuser
+$ docker compose run --rm manage createsuperuser
 ```
 
 The app should now be viewable at the default location of localhost:8787.
@@ -47,21 +44,21 @@ However, if the requirements files change, it is important that you rebuild the
 
 ```sh
 # stop the app
-$ docker-compose stop
+$ docker compose stop
 
 # remove the app container
-$ docker-compose rm app test manage
+$ docker compose rm app test manage
 
 # rebuild the app, manage, and test containers
-$ docker-compose build 
+$ docker compose build
 
 # start the app
-$ docker-compose up -d app
+$ docker compose up -d app
 ```
 
 #### Developing with Podman and Podman-Compose
 
-Similar to docker and docker-compose, you will need to install, clone the repository and create a `secrets.json`.
+Similar to Docker and Docker Compose, you will need to install, clone the repository and create a `secrets.json`.
 
 [Install or Enable Podman](https://podman.io/getting-started/installation).
 
@@ -81,10 +78,10 @@ fail on the first run since the database needs time to warm up.
 
 ```sh
 # On the initial run or if the schema changes
-$ docker-compose run --rm test --create-db
+$ docker compose run --rm test --create-db
 
 # Subsequent runs
-$ docker-compose run --rm test 
+$ docker compose run --rm test
 ```
 
 For podman
diff --git a/coda/coda_validate/tests/test_feeds.py b/coda/coda_validate/tests/test_feeds.py
index 207facd..89dc0f2 100644
--- a/coda/coda_validate/tests/test_feeds.py
+++ b/coda/coda_validate/tests/test_feeds.py
@@ -40,11 +40,24 @@ def test_items_chooses_oldest_validate(self):
         feed.items('')
         assert 'Item was chosen because it is the oldest' in feed.reason
 
+    def test_items_chooses_unverified_validate(self):
+        oldest = factories.ValidateFactory.create_batch(1, last_verified_status='Unverified',
+                                                        priority=0)
+        factories.ValidateFactory.create_batch(18, last_verified_status='Passed', priority=0)
+        factories.ValidateFactory.create_batch(1, last_verified_status='Unverified', priority=0)
+
+        feed = views.AtomNextNewsFeed()
+        feed_queryset = feed.items('')
+        assert len(feed_queryset) == 1
+        assert oldest[0].identifier == feed_queryset[0].identifier
+        assert 'Item was chosen because it is the oldest Unverified' in feed.reason
+
     def test_items_chooses_a_random_validate(self):
         # Make the last_verified time twice less than the validation period time
         # to ensure that we always randomly select a Validate object.
         last_verified = datetime.now() - (settings.VALIDATION_PERIOD * 2)
-        factories.ValidateFactory.create_batch(30, priority=0, last_verified=last_verified)
+        factories.ValidateFactory.create_batch(30, priority=0, last_verified=last_verified,
+                                               last_verified_status='Passed')
 
         feed = views.AtomNextNewsFeed()
         feed.items('')
@@ -52,7 +65,8 @@ def test_items_chooses_a_random_validate(self):
 
     def test_items_chooses_unprioritized_validate(self):
         last_verified = datetime.now() + settings.VALIDATION_PERIOD
-        factories.ValidateFactory.create_batch(30, priority=0, last_verified=last_verified)
+        factories.ValidateFactory.create_batch(30, priority=0, last_verified=last_verified,
+                                               last_verified_status='Passed')
 
         feed = views.AtomNextNewsFeed()
         feed.items('')
diff --git a/coda/coda_validate/views.py b/coda/coda_validate/views.py
index 80a0978..2edd98d 100644
--- a/coda/coda_validate/views.py
+++ b/coda/coda_validate/views.py
@@ -63,31 +63,37 @@ def items(self, obj):
         if v.exists():
             reason += 'Item was chosen because it is the \
 oldest prioritized.'
-        # if set is empty, go with any priority with last_verified older than
-        # settings.VALIDATION_PERIOD
         else:
-            # It might seem natural to use django's built-in random ordering,
-            # but that technique becomes slow when using large sets
-            # because 'order by ?' is very expensive against MySQL dbs.
-            # v = Validate.objects.all().filter(
-            #     last_verified__gte=datetime.datetime.now() -
-            #         settings.VALIDATION_PERIOD
-            # ).order_by('?')
-            # instead, let's do this:
-            # http://elpenia.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/getting-random-objects-from-a-queryset-in-django/
-            now = datetime.datetime.now()
+            # if nothing is prioritized, check for unverified status
             v = validations.filter(
-                last_verified__lte=now - settings.VALIDATION_PERIOD
-            )
+                last_verified_status='Unverified').order_by('added')
             if v.exists():
-                random_slice = int(random.random() * v.count())
-                v = v[random_slice:]
-                reason += 'Item was randomly selected and within the \
-past year because there is no prioritized record.'
-            # if that set has no objects, pick the oldest verified item.
+                reason += 'Item was chosen because it is the oldest Unverified.'
             else:
-                v = validations.order_by('last_verified')
-                reason += 'Item was chosen because there \
+                # if set is empty, go with any priority with last_verified older than
+                # settings.VALIDATION_PERIOD
+                # It might seem natural to use django's built-in random ordering,
+                # but that technique becomes slow when using large sets
+                # because 'order by ?' is very expensive against MySQL dbs.
+                # v = Validate.objects.all().filter(
+                #     last_verified__gte=datetime.datetime.now() -
+                #         settings.VALIDATION_PERIOD
+                # ).order_by('?')
+                # instead, let's do this:
+                # http://elpenia.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/getting-random-objects-from-a-queryset-in-django/
+                now = datetime.datetime.now()
+                v = validations.filter(
+                    last_verified__lte=now - settings.VALIDATION_PERIOD
+                )
+                if v.exists():
+                    random_slice = int(random.random() * v.count())
+                    v = v[random_slice:]
+                    reason += 'Item was randomly selected and within the \
+past year because there is no prioritized record.'
+                # if that set has no objects, pick the oldest verified item.
+                else:
+                    v = validations.order_by('last_verified')
+                    reason += 'Item was chosen because there \
 is no prioritized record and it had not been validated in the longest \
 duration of time.'
         self.reason = reason
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 716073c..c6daaf4 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-version: '2'
 services:
     db:
         image: mariadb:10.4