Racial and political tensions remain high in Atlanta and the latest evidence is the fact that a longtime and well-known restaurant is being monitored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and its company president Susan DeRose has been under police protection.

Georgia’s commitment to fight human trafficking has already been getting attention nationwide, and the state continues to add tools to the toolbox. A bill introduced on behalf of Governor Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp to combat human trafficking across the state sailed through the Senate late last week by a 48-0 margin.

It was a close Atlanta City Council vote Saturday on the Atlanta Police Department’s fiscal year 2021 budget in the wake of recent looting, riots and the Wendy’s police officer shooting of a black man who resisted arrest and tried to escape.

The Georgia Center for Assisted Living and representatives of 26 assisted living communities across the state are asking Georgia’s Congressional delegation for “urgent assistance in securing direct federal funding, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and prioritization for testing of COVID-19.”

Gov. Brian Kemp joined with State education leaders Thursday to make several announcements regarding testing and teacher certifications, including the removal of the edTPA assessment as a requirement for the certification of educators in Georgia and the removal of the second of two required ethics assessments. Officials said the removal of these two assessments cuts the certification cost for Georgia teachers by nearly half, easing barriers for many in the midst of the fight with COVID-19.