Today’s the day of the big Nationwide Emergency Alert System phone test. If everything works as it should this afternoon at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time, every TV, radio and cell phone in the US will blast out the same set of tones and a test message. You won’t get it if you’re off the cell grid, like on airplane mode. Federal emergency management officials say the system is necessary in the event of an emergency, attack or natural disaster that would affect us on a national level.
