To Our Readers: For the past 12 days we’ve had a program malfunction that has prevented the Report from going to half our subscribers. We’re still working on a fix and we’ll try to keep you updated. Here’s the news.

The Epidemic: The infection of a Dallas nurse has the Centers for Disease Control re-thinking how hospitals should handle Ebola, “because even a single infection is unacceptable,” CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden said. Changes may involve different protective gear, procedures, and cleaning solutions.

Nina Pham, 26, a nurse at Dallas’s Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, has been identified as the first person to contract the Ebola virus in the US. CDC experts are watching medical staff and their procedures as they enter and depart from Pham’s room. Pham was wearing protective gear when she was infected treating a patient with Ebola and the CDC believes she somehow breached proper procedures.

Nation: Noted college professor Cornel West was among 50 people arrested when protesters marched on the Ferguson, Mo. police station last night. West is a firebrand academic who wrote the book Race Matters.He went to Ferguson saying he intended to get himself arrested. Demonstrators read the names of people killed by police officers and demanded charges against the officer who shot the unarmed teenager Michael Brown in early August.

World: At least 30 people were killed yesterday in the collision of three minibuses on a desert highway in southern Egypt. All three vans were believed to be speeding.

> The British parliament voted 274-12 in favor of a symbolic measure to recognize the Palestinian state. It’s not binding on the government so it is not likely to happen, but it is a signal of increasing unhappiness in Europe with how Israel deals with the Palestinians. Israel’s pulverizing of Gaza this summer has generated sympathy for the Palestinians. Sweden’s government voted to recognize Palestine and France is leaning toward doing the same.

Hermit Kingdom: North Korean leader Kim Jung-un made his first public appearance since Sept. 3, according to the state news agency. Kim was shown walking with a stick, although the story did not say what day Kim showed himself. Amid rumors and speculation that he’s been ill or even deposed, the state news agency described Kim as suffering some unspecified personal “discomfort.”

Holy Rollover: The Vatican indicated yesterday that it might loosen its stance on homosexuality, divorce, and premarital sex. A message from the synod of bishops says, “Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community.” But the church is not close to approving same-sex marriage. The statement also said divorce and re-marriage are subjects for “discernment,” which in Catholic speak means they’re going to think about it, but at least they are thinking about it.

Defending the President: Bucking the tide of critics, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman delivers an intelligent defense of President Obama’s record in a cover story for Rolling Stone Magazine. “Despite bitter opposition, despite having come close to self-inflicted disaster,” Krugman writes, “Obama has emerged as one of the most consequential and, yes, successful presidents in American history.”

Krugman argues that Obama has made strides on financial reform, the economy and the environment, but he says healthcare reform alone ….. Obamacare …. puts Obama in the league of the most effective presidents who have changed America for the better. Krugman says, “More important, however, polls – or even elections – are not the measure of a president. High office shouldn’t be about putting points on the electoral scoreboard, it should be about changing the country for the better. Has Obama done that? Do his achievements look likely to endure? The answer to both questions is yes.”

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