You can tell it's is a slow summer news week when a report that a conservative, GOP-appointed Supreme Court Justice isn't going to retire while a Democrat's in the White House is considered remarkable.

It's hard to say why the Daily News even thought this was news, let alone why the report generated any online chatter. (Except of course, for ODS.) It's the definition of a Dog Bites Man dispatch:

President Obama may get liberal Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court, but conservative swing-voter Anthony Kennedy says he's not going anywhere anytime soon.

Justice Kennedy, who turns 74 this month, has told relatives and friends he plans to stay on the high court for at least three more years - through the end of Obama's first term, sources said.

Question: Is there is a serious SCOTUS watcher who actually thought Kennedy might retire during Obama's first term? The way the SCOTUS game is now played is that conservative justices do all they can to wait unitl a Republican is in the White House before they retire in hopes that the balance of the court will not dramatically change. And visa versa for liberal-leaning justices.

Plus, Kennedy is only 74 years old, a young man by today's SCOTUS standards. So why on earth would he voluntarily retire while Obama is president?

What's next from the Daily News, a scoop about how Joe Girardi has told friends he's not planning to retire as manager of the New York Yankees?