New York City: City overview

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New York is an instantly recognizable brand -- the ultimate distillation of metropolitan living and the imperial city of American capitalism. Hyperactive, hysterical and self-obsessively hip, nowhere else has been so mythologized by popular culture. Entire musical genres -- disco, punk and hip-hop -- were shaped there. The sidewalks, subway and skyline have inspired a lifetime of work by Gothamite auteurs such as Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen. That creativity reflects New York's restless kinetic energy. Everyone here is making something, whether it's money, music or margheritas. The huddled masses these days are more likely to be stockbrokers crammed on a downtown train, but nowhere in the world can match New York's diversity. Wave after wave of immigrants have adopted corners of the city as their own, creating an interlinked patchwork of communities representing virtually every country and culture on earth. New Yorkers may be infamous straight talkers with an inflated sense of their own importance, but spend any time in the city and you'll begin to appreciate why. Swept along amid the jarring cacophony it's impossible not to have the sense of being part of some great spectacle, conducted by some invisible hand.

Iranian official: Arrest anti-government protesters An Iranian national security official has called for demonstrators to be arrested following deadly weekend anti-government protests in Tehran. Soon afterwar ...

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