The executive confirmed that the reporter intended to apologize directly to the justice for the false reporting.
"Neither Justice Alito nor the Supreme Court Public Information Office has announced his retirement.
As soon as the error was realized, the story was retracted and removed from NPR's website and an on-air correction was broadcast.
We regret the error and any confusion this may have caused. This afternoon, Mrs. Totenberg will appear on All Things Considered to explain what happened.
She has reached out to Justice Alito to apologize," added Evans.
The retracted article itself contained extensive background text prepared for Alito's eventual departure, summarizing his legacy as a conservative leader on the bench.
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Unfinished editorial elements and typographical errors inside the text indicated that the pre-written draft was accidentally published ahead of time.
