WASHINGTON -- Disassociative Press (DP) November 4, 2011
It’s only a test, but nerves are already seriously frayed over the first nationwide test of Homeland Security's new Emergency Alert System, designed to inform Americans during national emergencies like nuclear war, natural disasters or when a white women goes missing.
In fact, the extended test of the EAS alert is itself widely predicted to cause a national emergency.
The test will occur at 2 PM EST this coming Wednesday, and will last over three minutes — interrupting dozens of soap operas and reality TV shows, and all 567 college sports channels on DirecTV. The message will take over TV's and radios for far longer than the typical 30 seconds for most broadcast test messages, which has officials deeply worried about how Americans will react to such sudden change.
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