DOJ: No, The Amber Alert System Is Not Down

Attorney General Eric Holder speaks during a news conference in New Orleans, Thursday, June 28, 2012. The Obama administration and House Republicans refused to find a middle ground in a dispute over documents related... Attorney General Eric Holder speaks during a news conference in New Orleans, Thursday, June 28, 2012. The Obama administration and House Republicans refused to find a middle ground in a dispute over documents related to a botched gun-tracking operation, and the GOP plunged ahead with plans for precedent-setting votes Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in civil and criminal contempt o Congress. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) MORE LESS
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Monday morning began with intimations that the Amber Alert system had been shuttered thanks to the government shutdown — check out the front page of the Drudge Report — but a Justice Department spokesman quickly squashed that rumor on Twitter.

The federal website, AmberAlert.gov, is temporarily down. But the system itself is still functioning. As the above statement makes clear, Amber alerts are issued by state and local authorities. Those haven’t been affected by the shutdown.

UPDATE 10:51 a.m. ET

The federal Amber Alert website seems to be back up.

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