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NPR’s Alito retirement blunder raises eyebrows after reporter’s ‘not plausible’ explanation stuns media world

NPR’s Alito retirement blunder raises eyebrows after reporter's ‘not plausible’ explanation stuns media world Email New York Post Read the Latest on Page Six

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NPR’s Alito retirement blunder raises eyebrows after reporter’s ‘not plausible’ explanation stuns media world

By Brian Flood, Fox News Published July 1, 2026, 7:55 p.m. ET

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The strange explanation surrounding NPR’s erroneous story about Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s retirement has raised more questions about the journalism debacle.

NPR was forced to retract a story Tuesday by legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg, who wrongly reported that Alito was retiring. NPR published the story headlined, “Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, retires,” but quickly replaced it with an editor’s note insisting it was “erroneously published.”

NPR top editor Thomas Evans issued a statement calling the botched report a “misunderstanding” and said Totenberg would appear on “All Things Considered” to explain how the gaffe occurred.

But NPR Public Editor Kelly McBride addressed the situation before Totenberg appeared on-air and wrote that Totenberg “misheard” an announcement by Chief Justice John Roberts and simply thought he said Alito was retiring.

Totenberg then appeared on “All Things Considered” Tuesday and provided a different explanation for the “rookie mistake” that contradicted her own public editor. The 82-year-old Totenberg, who has been a working journalist for over five decades, read a letter she wrote to Alito apologizing for the mistake.

“Dear Justice Alito, there are no words to adequately apologize for today’s error in reporting your retirement. It was entirely my fault,” Totenberg said.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. at the Supreme Court. 3
Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. during the formal group photograph at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Bloomberg via Getty Images

“I rushed out of the courtroom after the opinion announcements, and when I realized that the usual rush of folks after a few minutes had not happened, I asked somebody what was going on inside, to which the answer was, ‘retirement announcements.’ I didn’t hear the ‘s’ on ‘announcements,’ and I assumed, something no reporter should ever do, that you were retiring,” Totenberg continued. “It was the worst professional mistake of my more than 50 years in journalism. I could go on, but I don’t know what else to say, except that I am so, so sorry.”

NPR was then forced to issue its second correction of the day, this time to McBride’s story about Totenberg’s misstep. McBride initially wrote that Totenberg misheard Justice Roberts, but the veteran reporter admitted on-air that she instead heard “somebody” say a retirement was being announced.

“This story was updated to include Totenberg’s description of her error, as broadcast on ATC. She did not personally hear the announcement from the chief justice,” the correction stated.

A smartphone displaying the NPR logo sits on a computer keyboard with white earphones. 3
NPR was then forced to issue its second correction of the day, this time to McBride’s story about Totenberg’s misstep. Ralf – stock.adobe.com

Alito’s retirement would have massive implications if it happened, as President Donald Trump would be in position to have a fourth Supreme Court pick over his two terms.

Totenberg’s puzzling explanation not only contradicted McBride but also stunned media observers from across the industry. CNN media reporter Brian Stelter posted her apology on X and was promptly met with confusion.

Axios reporter Alex Thompson replied, “I don’t understand,” to which Stelter added, “I don’t either.” Others suggested that Totenberg might have jumped the gun on a looming announcement and many wondered why a veteran journalist would have published a pre-written bombshell without clear confirmation.

Bethany Mandel added, “Her version of events is not plausible. She heard the word retirement and assumed Alito and published a whole story?”

“That is not an explanation. It’s either a lie or unforgivable incompetence for which she must be fired,” Miranda Devine responded.

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