Justice Alito reportedly does not plan to retire before the court’s term ends

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly left-leaning (67%).

5 articles in total, 2 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Image via The Daily BeastHow images are chosen Report this image

The New York Times reports that Justice Samuel Alito has told people close to him he does not plan to step down before the court’s term ends, even after Democrats won Senate control in Tuesday’s midterm elections. Reason, citing the Times and Bloomberg, says Alito still intends to finish the term. Democrats take over the Senate in January, and the outlets say Republicans may have run out of time to confirm another justice during Trump’s second term.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

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The coverage spectrum counts the outlets covering a story at each of five points. A short or missing segment means that part of the spectrum is mostly quiet.

Governor Loaded verb“slams”It adds drama to what was said. The governor criticized the lawmakers; “slams” makes it sound like a fight.More neutral: criticizes lawmakers over budget delay

Highlights mark words that carry a judgement. Tap one to see why, and what a neutral writer would say. Here it is “criticizes”.

The 5-point spectrum

Far Left
Voices that strongly advocate for progressive policies and systemic change.
Left
Mainstream liberal perspectives focusing on social equality and regulation.
Center
Sources that prioritize neutral reporting and balanced viewpoints.
Right
Mainstream conservative perspectives focusing on market freedom and tradition.
Far Right
Voices that strongly advocate for conservative values and limited government.

How we measure bias

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

Justice Samuel Alito has told people close to him he does not plan to step down before the court’s term ends.
Across the spectrumReported byFar Left1Left1Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
Far Left
The Daily Beast
Left
The New York Times
Right
Daily Mail, Reason
Democrats take control of the Senate in January after winning Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Across the spectrumReported byFar Left1Left1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
Far Left
The Daily Beast
Left
The New York Times
Right
Daily Mail
Far Right
Hot Air
Republicans may no longer be able to confirm a Trump-picked replacement before the new Senate takes over.
Reported byFar Left1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
Far Left
The Daily Beast
Right
Daily Mail
Far Right
Hot Air
Trump suggested weeks earlier that Alito was weighing retirement.
One outletDaily Mail· Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side present reports, citing the New York Times, that Alito told associates he will not retire before the court’s term ends, and that Democrats take the Senate in January. The left presents this as a news item, while the right stresses the narrowing window for Trump to confirm a replacement.

the left
2 outlets
The New York Times states the plan neutrally, while the Far Left Daily Beast headline labels Alito “Trumpy” and calls the midterms a “mess”.
Justice Alito Will Not Retire Immediately, Despite Election Outcome
The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines
the center
No coverage yet
No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
the right
1 outlet · 2 opinion
The Daily Mail frames it as a defiant refusal to retire early, while Far Right Hot Air states flatly “Says He’s Not Retiring”, presenting an opinion-section headline as fact.
Supreme Court justice 'won't retire early' despite blue wave as Democrats eye another branch of government
Daily MailRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Left5
MAGA rumblingsDemocratic routTrumpySpills
Center
Has not covered this story.
Right0
No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

Vague attribution
MAGA rumblingsMore neutral: Some Republicans reportedly wanted Alito to step down
The phrase refers to unnamed pressure without saying who made it or how widespread it was.
There were MAGA rumblings that the George W.
Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)
Sensational language
Democratic routMore neutral: Democratic gains
“Rout” describes the scale of the result with drama beyond the vote totals reported.
Bush appointee should voluntarily step down after Tuesday’s midterms revealed a Democratic rout in both chambers of Congress, which will make it more difficult for Trump to…
Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)
Loaded modifier
TrumpyMore neutral: Supreme Court Justice
The label defines the justice by his alignment with the president and pre-judges his motives.
Trumpy Justice Spills on Retirement Plan After Midterms Mess
Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)
Loaded verb
SpillsMore neutral: says
“Spills” suggests a careless leak of secrets, while the justice made a statement to friends.
Trumpy Justice Spills on Retirement Plan After Midterms Mess
Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

Sensational language
MessMore neutral: results
“Mess” characterizes the midterm results as a disaster without support.
Trumpy Justice Spills on Retirement Plan After Midterms Mess
Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets

Leads with

Alito’s private remarks to friends
pressure from MAGA supporters to step down
Democrats’ midterm gains

See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

The Daily BeastFar Left
Loaded modifier“Trumpy”The label defines the justice by his alignment with the president and pre-judges his motives.More neutral: Supreme Court JusticeDisagree with this highlight? Justice Loaded verb“Spills”“Spills” suggests a careless leak of secrets, while the justice made a statement to friends.More neutral: saysDisagree with this highlight? on Retirement Plan After Midterms Sensational language“Mess”“Mess” characterizes the midterm results as a disaster without support.More neutral: resultsDisagree with this highlight?
One of the Supreme Court’s conservative justices says he will not retire in the next two months while Republicans still control the Senate. Justice Samuel Alito, 76, has told friends that he doesn’t plan on retiring before Democrats retake the Senate, The New York Times reported …
1 hr agoRead at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)
The New York TimesLeft
Justice Alito Will Not Retire Immediately, Despite Election Outcome
The conservative justice has told friends he does not plan to step down before the end of the court’s term, even as Democrats are set to seize the Senate in January.
4 hr agoRead at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

1 outlet · 2 opinion

Leads with

Trump’s chance to appoint two justices
Democratic Senate control as a barrier
Alito’s votes with Trump

See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Daily MailRight
Supreme Court justice 'won't retire early' despite blue wave as Democrats eye another branch of government
A Republican majority would have allowed Donald Trump to appoint potentially two more justices in place of aging court members Alito, 76, and Clarence Thomas, 78.
1 hr agoRead at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)
ReasonRightOpinion
Don't Expect a Lame-Duck Supreme Court Vacancy (But There Are Other Nominations to Consider)
Both the NYT and Bloomberg reports that Justice Alito still intends to finish out the current Supreme Court term.
1 hr agoRead at Reason (opens in a new tab)
Hot AirFar RightOpinion
Justice Alito Says He's Not Retiring
With everything else happening last night, you may not have spared a thought for the future of the Supreme Court. But with Democrats taking control of the Senate, there's very little time left in President Trump's second term for him to switch out a current Justice for someone …
2 hr agoRead at Hot Air (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

Left
First to report
The New York Times, Nov 4, 6:37 PM EST
Center
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
Right
3 hr 21 min later
Its first report, Nov 4, 9:58 PM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order

The New York TimesLeftNov 4, 6:37 PM EST
The Daily BeastFar LeftNov 4, 9:57 PM EST
Daily MailRightNov 4, 9:58 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Justice Alito reportedly does not plan to retire before the court’s term ends

Coverage spectrum

Key points

Compare views

the left

the center

the right

Language to notice

In the outlets’ own words

Side by side

From the left

Justice Alito Will Not Retire Immediately, Despite Election Outcome

From the center

From the right

Supreme Court justice 'won't retire early' despite blue wave as Democrats eye another branch of government

Don't Expect a Lame-Duck Supreme Court Vacancy (But There Are Other Nominations to Consider)

Justice Alito Says He's Not Retiring

How the coverage built up

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