(Continued from page 24)

International Woman of Courage award for her women's rights activism in Afghanistan. Prominently displayed in Frogh's office is a picture of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton granting her the award as First Lady Michelle Obama smiles, clapping by her side.
• Four years later, the United States denied her a visa when she was trying to get away from an Afghan militia commander who she says was persecuting her.
• For Frogh, the experience underlined the state of the women's rights movement in her country. Thirteen years after the fall of the Taliban, billions of dollars have been spent, the West and the Afghan government have offered countless words of support, yet the successes that have been achieved remain vulnerable. Ultimately, women still have nowhere to turn when their battle for equal rights puts them on the firing line, she said.
• "They give you an award but they don't support you when you need them," she told The Associated Press. "I always thought that if my government didn't help me I would always be able to turn to the United States. I never thought that they would turn their back on me."
• Gains have been made. Gone are the rules imposed by the Taliban forcing women to wear the all-encompassing burqa and barring girls from school. Now, as many as 4 million girls are in school, and women sit in Afghanistan's parliament.
• ___

• WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats could get walloped in the November elections. The party gets sleepy and distracted in the midterms. And its supporters simply may not show up to vote.
• Those aren't hopeful predictions from Republicans. They're the dire warnings of President Barack Obama, who is seeking to gin up enthusiasm for the midterm elections from party activists already looking toward the 2016 race to replace him.
• The remainder of his presidency hangs on Democratic performance in the November contest. If voters hand the Senate over to Republican control, Obama will lose even the uphill chance he has to get legislation passed in his remaining time in office.
• "I hope that just because I'm not on the ballot that people aren't going to take it easy this time, because the ideas I care about and am fighting for are on the ballot," Obama said to about 75 donors who paid $5,000 to $20,000 to hear him speak over

(Continued on page 26)