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• Friends and foes describe the move simply as Christie being Christie.
• The tell-it-like-it-is governor is signaling that he won't be intimidated by a vocal conservative minority that usually wields great influence in Republican presidential politics. And with political divisions deepening -- especially in the Republican Party -- Christie is betting his political future that the GOP and the nation ultimately would embrace an unapologetic compromiser capable of attracting a broad coalition of voters, as he is expected to do in gubernatorial voting in two weeks.
• There are clear risks.
• While national public opinion is evolving, Republicans who oppose gay marriage traditionally dominate GOP politics in early-voting states on the presidential calendar such as Iowa and South Carolina.
• ___

• ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Amnesty International called on the U.S. to investigate reports of civilians killed and wounded by CIA drone strikes in Pakistan in a report released Tuesday that provided new details about the alleged victims of the attacks, including a 68-year-old grandmother hit while farming with her grandchildren.
• Mamana Bibi's grandchildren told the London-based rights group that she was killed by missile fire on Oct. 24, 2012, as she was collecting vegetables in a family field in the North Waziristan tribal area, a major militant sanctuary near the Afghan border. Three of Bibi's grandchildren were wounded in the strike, as were several others who were nearby, the victims said.
• The U.S. considers its drone program to be a key weapon against insurgent groups that it says stages cross-border forays into neighboring Afghanistan. But the belief, widespread in Pakistan, that the strikes kill large numbers of civilians sparks resentment and complicates the two countries' ability to coordinate efforts against militants based in the country, including al-Qaida.
• An even deadlier incident noted by the report -- titled "'Will I be next?' U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan"-- occurred in North Waziristan on July 6, 2012. Witnesses said a volley of missiles hit a tent where a group of men had gathered for an evening meal after work, and then a second struck those who came to help the wounded, one of a number of attacks that have hit rescuers, the rights group said.
• Witnesses and relatives said that total of 18 male laborers with no links to militant groups died, according to Amnesty. Pakistani intelligence officials at the time identi

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