National Public Radio (NPR) issued a retraction for a story on Tuesday after it mistakenly reported that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito had retired. The erroneous report quickly drew attention before being withdrawn.
The story, initially published with the headline "Justice Samuel Alito, who published the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, retires," would have signified a major development for the nation's highest judicial body. However, NPR promptly removed the article and replaced it with an editor's note addressing the inaccuracy.
In its correction, NPR stated, "Earlier today we erroneously published a story saying that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring. He has not announced his retirement and we have retracted the story."
Speculation surrounding the potential retirement of Justice Alito, who is 76 years old, has intensified due to several factors. These include his age, his two decades of service on the Supreme Court bench, and the political consideration that he might wish for a conservative successor to be confirmed by the current Republican-controlled Senate before the upcoming midterm elections.
Justice Alito was nominated to the Supreme Court in 2005 by then-President George W. Bush.
In previous remarks, former President Donald Trump has commented on Justice Alito's health and judicial standing. Trump stated that he believes Alito, who has largely aligned with his views in significant cases, is "in very good physical health" and described him as "one of the great justices of our time."
