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When you watch science fiction movies, you notice there are two things that seem like we will get in the future — a silver jumpsuit and driverless cars.

In the movie I, Robot, which is set in a futuristic 2035, Will Smith is sitting in the driver's seat of his Audi, relaxing and reading a magazine when he suddenly gets attacked by robots. Then the car, which is set on manual override, notifies him the obvious, "You're experiencing a car accident."

Jumping On The Band Wagon

Filip Brabec with Audi of America says the car company is still a couple of decades away from the film's depiction of technology, however, the car maker is navigating toward a new initiative.

It's become the first in the auto industry to test automated cars, in Nevada.

Although Google has been working on this for years with actual self-driving cars on the road, Google is not a car maker — yet.

President Obama lays down his marker on guns and exhorts Congress to act. But the House has no intention of voting to ban assault weapons, and rural Democrats in the Senate remain skittish. Meanwhile, Chuck Hagel gets some important backers in his bid to join the cabinet, and Mark Sanford hopes all is forgiven as he tries to return to Congress. But if he deserves a second chance, then so do NPR's Ken Rudin and Ron Elving.

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In France, news that an apartment measuring less than 17 square feet had been rented out for 15 years is being cited as proof of an overly expensive real estate market in Paris. A 50-year-old man identified only as "Dominique" had been paying rent of 330 euros, or about $442, to live in the apartment.

The story was highlighted by the housing advocacy group Fondation Abbe Pierre, after the man asked for help dealing with his landlord. He had been living in a space that measured 1.56 square meters — or about 16.8 square feet.

"I come home, I go to bed," Dominique told the French website and radio station RTL, describing how he coped with living in the space.

A photograph released by the advocacy group shows the apartment has a skylight and a slanted roof, but "a person doesn't stand correctly" in the space, it said on its Twitter feed. It added that the photo might make the place seem larger than it actually is.

RTL reported the story Thursday, saying that three different real estate agencies had managed the apartment despite its small size. It added that the door to the "miniscule" apartment was now permanently closed — and the owner faces a court date later this month.

Le Monde reports that the legal minimum size of an apartment in Paris is 9 square meters. And it must include a shower.

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