On Wednesday, November 9, 2011, FEMA, DHS and the FCC will conduct the first national test of the new Nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS). This nationwide test will start at 2 pm EST (11 am Pacific) and run across all time zones. The 3 minute test will run concurrently on all radio and TV stations and it’s longer than it used to be (previous messages of this type lasted from 30 seconds to 1 minute). The updating the phrase that follows that loud beeping sound, followed by "This is only a test, it is ONLY a test. If it had been a real emergency (etc.)" message may be benign, but it could also indicate worry about an upcoming danger.read more