Who Should Warn the Public of Nuclear War?
America's emergency alert system expects local authorities to warn the public in case of a ballistic missile attack. Some wish the feds would cut out the middle man.
Investigators are blaming human error for the panic-inducing false missile alert in Hawaii last month. They say it was sent out by a state emergency management worker who mistook an exercise for a real attack.
At the same time, the incident has exposed what may be a more wide-spread problem: disagreement over whose job it should be to warn the public about missile attacks.
Technically, the alerts could be sent by any federal, state or local agency that has access to IPAWS, the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System, which sends emergency alerts to TV, radio and smart phones.
But Federal officials say it's not their
