Maybe the alert system could be modified to only warn the user with a predefined warning to go check the news because something is going on.
I suggested something like that
previously.
I do think that some alert system would be good, though the old alert system's propagation method and especially its single-key authentication
was really bad, so I don't mourn its loss specifically. A new system could work by polling DNS TXT records + signatures (eg.
alert.bitcoincore.org. TXT "predefined_alert=2 time=... sig=ABCD+/012..."), with many domains+keys controlled by many people and perhaps a requirement that at least a few of them agree before displaying an alert.