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While there are always rumors about Supreme Court<\/a> justices retiring, especially after releasing their final decisions of the term, it was a genuine surprise when NPR reported<\/a> \u201cJustice Samuel Alito, who wrote the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, retires.\u201d<\/p>\n It was an even bigger surprise, minutes later, when it became clear the report was a mistake. The folks at SCOTUSblog<\/a> \u2014 who were still running a liveblog about this morning\u2019s decisions \u2014 expressed their own skepticism about the report. Then they confirmed that NPR chief Supreme Court correspondent Nina Totenberg, who has previously broken stories of justices\u2019 retirements, said<\/a> it was an error.<\/p>\n Not long after, NPR took down the article and posted a retraction<\/a> in its place. NPR editor-in-chief Tommy Evans soon released a statement saying Totenberg \u201cincorrectly reported\u201d the news and has reached out to Alito to apologize. He also said she would \u201cexplain what happened\u201d on All Things Considered.<\/p>\n NPR public editor Kelly McBride later wrote<\/a> that Totenberg \u201cmisheard an announcement about retirements,\u201d calling the false report \u201ca result of an honest mistake and a rush to publish\u201d but something they could and should have caught:<\/p>\n Totenberg was reporting on the final day of the Supreme Court session on Tuesday. As she was leaving the court, Chief Justice John Roberts was announcing upcoming retirements. Totenberg misheard Roberts\u2019 statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n NPR had the lengthy story about Alito\u2019s retirement already written, because that\u2019s what newsrooms do in anticipation of significant retirements and even deaths.<\/p>\n Totenberg spoke with both her intern, who was at the court with her, and NPR Executive Editor Krishnadev Calamur and told them what she heard. Calamur surfaced the story that NPR had previously prepared for the day Alito did announce his retirement and published it. The information was also broadcast on NPR\u2019s airwaves.<\/p>\n McBride said the post was only live for about five minutes before they took it down and corrected it. Calamur told McBride he had no reason to doubt Totenberg\u2019s reporting:<\/p>\n \u201cI was looking to see who else was reporting it, and nobody was reporting it, and then, basically, we realized that it was not true,\u201d Calamur said. \u201cShe called and said, \u2018I made a mistake,\u2019 and we rushed to make a retraction.\u201d<\/p>\n Totenberg is one of the most experienced reporters covering the Supreme Court. She\u2019s done so for NPR since 1975. Her status contributed to the error.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s the preeminent Supreme Court reporter in the courtroom,\u201d Calamur said. \u201cSo I\u2019m assuming that\u2019s what she heard. \u2026 She\u2019s in the room. It\u2019s like when we report opinions. I\u2019m not waiting to see what the Times is reporting. It\u2019s when Nina says, here\u2019s what happened, and we do it. That\u2019s the trust you build up.\u201d<\/p>\n Calamur also said that \u201cthis sort of shit should not happen\u201d and that he would review NPR\u2019s process for breaking-news posts. Totenberg, appearing on All Things Considered<\/a>, said she told Alito it was \u201cthe worst professional mistake of my more than 50 years of journalism\u201d and insisted that \u201cthis is on me and only me.\u201d<\/p>\n The New York Times\u2019s Benjamin Mullin reports<\/a> that the story did clear an editorial \u201cbackstop\u201d:<\/p>\n The article went through an extra layer of editing, known at NPR as \u201cthe backstop,\u201d according to two people familiar with the process. NPR added that layer in 2024 as a final line of defense against errors. But because the article cited an announcement, rather than confidential sources, the network did not take additional steps to verify the accuracy of the information, the people said.<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> in 2024 that Alito had no plans to retire. But if a conservative justice were to retire, they\u2019d presumably do so while a Republican has control of the Senate, as is the case now\u00a0but may not be this time next year. That\u2019s why the sight of Clarence Thomas strolling through the Capitol<\/a> ignited speculation on Monday.<\/p>\n This post has been updated.<\/p>\n