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“Is that Snoop Dog?!”: Man caught with fake passenger in carpool lane

<p>A US motorist has been handed a traffic infringement after police found him using a dummy to drive in the carpool lane. </p> <p>Not only did his hilarious attempt to bypass morning traffic with the fake passenger whose goatee was "just a little too sharp" get him fined, he helped authorities answer the common question: “If I have a mannequin in the passenger seat, does that count as a second occupant in the vehicle? </p> <p>"The answer is simple… NO."</p> <p>According to an Instagram post shared by the California Highway Patrol Santa Fe Spring, authorities stopped the unnamed driver for crossing a double line when they noticed the plastic passenger. </p> <p>"Officer Kaplan made an enforcement stop on this vehicle for crossing solid double lines only to realise the driver was the only occupant in the vehicle with their plastic friend," they wrote. </p> <p>The mannequin in question had a human-like mask, sported a hoodie and sunglasses, and was seated upright with his seatbelt buckled in just like any other passenger. </p> <p>And he would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for the fake facial hair. </p> <p>"The goatee was sharp … just a little too sharp," they shared. </p> <p>"We've gotta give it to them, the appearance is next-level modelling but at the end of the day ... plastic is plastic." </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C6K7Thkr2CO/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C6K7Thkr2CO/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by CHP Santa Fe Springs (@chp_santa_fe_springs)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The driver was issued with a number of citations for carpool violations, but many online commenters shared their amusement at the light-hearted nature of the traffic violation. </p> <p>"Is that snoop dog?!" wrote one commenter. </p> <p>"Leave Stevie wonder alone," joked another. </p> <p>"I really don’t see a problem here because most people are fake and have lots of plastic on them anyways," quipped a third. </p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p> <p> </p>

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"I'm not OK": Michael Bublé opens up about his son's cancer battle

<p>Singer Michael Bublé has spoken of the ongoing effect his son’s cancer diagnosis is having on him.</p> <p>It was during a special <span>episode of "Carpool Karaoke" with late-night TV host James Corden for charity Stand Up to Cancer.</span></p> <p>The popular crooner’s son Noah, with actress Luisana Lopilato, was diagnosed with liver cancer when he was three years old.</p> <p>Now 5, Noah is doing well and in remission.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kg7UWnNF_rA" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><span>In the emotional interview, Bublé teared up remembering his son’s cancer diagnosis in 2016, saying at one point to Corden, "It's too hard to talk about man.”</span></p> <p><span>"We got the diagnosis, and that was it man," said the 43-year-old. "My whole life ended."</span></p> <p>The Canadian singer and his immediate and extended family decided to relocate to be close to the hospital where Noah was being treated, reports <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.today.com/parents/michael-bubl-talks-about-son-s-cancer-battle-carpool-karaoke-t140779" target="_blank"><em>Today</em></a>.</p> <p>During that time, the singer said that he was the rock in the relationship, but once Noah had been given the all-clear, the pressure of the ordeal took its toll and remains with him today.</p> <p>“I’m not OK,” he admitted.</p> <p>“My wife, honestly, when this all started, I became the strength to somehow pull us and lift us and to be positive,” he explained.</p> <p>“And when they got [the cancer] out and the chemo was done and they said, 'We did it, it's good, he's OK,' I fell, I just fell. My wife picks me up now."</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 500px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7821678/14642240_10154003873729157_4873649632082196909_n.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f5ef2cc6822046808577d7216abc5f17" /></p> <p>Revealing the cancer diagnosis late in 2016, Bublé posted a poignant message on his Facebook page saying, <span></span><span>"We are devastated about the recent cancer diagnosis of our oldest son Noah who is currently undergoing treatment in the US.”</span></p> <p>“We will win this battle.”</p> <p>Both he and Argentinian-born Lopilato, who are also parents to Elias, 2, and baby girl Vida, put their careers on hold to see their son through his treatment.</p> <p>In an interview with the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/singer-michael-buble-opens-up-about-son-noahs-cancer-battle/news-story/4458edecc7bf6d66c7cc2f8ab08fffb9" target="_blank">Herald Sun</a> in July, Bublé called Noah a “superhero".</p> <p>“It’s my boy. He’s a superhero," he told the publication. “But I’ve been to hell. And you know what, hell seems like a really nice place to vacation compared to where we’ve been.”</p> <p>Recently, amidst reports Bublé was going to retire, his publicist Liz Rosenberg set the record straight.</p> <p>“Michael Bublé has absolutely no plans to retire,” she told INSIDER. “I assure you with a new album coming out, TV appearances, and a possible tour, he is not retiring.”</p> <p>Bublé’s upcoming album, Love, will be the singer's 10th record.</p>

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Son and Alzheimer’s sufferer father perform carpool karaoke

<p>After his music-loving father Ted, 79, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Simon McDermott decided to do something special to help raise awareness of the disease, as well as some much-needed funds for the UK Alzheimer’s Society.</p> <p>The pair have set up a YouTube channel where they regularly upload videos of themselves performing classic tunes like “On The Street Where You Live” and “Quando Quando Quando” in the car, a la James Corden’s popular <a href="/news/news/2016/02/elton-john-carpool-karaoke-with-james-corden/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Carpool Karaoke</span></strong></a> series.</p> <p>Plus, the classic songs have the added benefit of acting as a sort of therapy for the crooner. “Now when we've got him singing again he's back in the room,” Simon writes on the pair’s <a href="https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/songaminute" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">JustGiving</span></strong></a> page. “It's these moments that we treasure.”</p> <p>Take a listen in the video above. You’ll be blown away when you listen to Ted’s voice – it’s truly spectacular.</p> <p>The McDermotts have already raised almost $130,000 for Alzheimer’s research. Well done!</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/08/dick-van-dyke-performs-chitty-chitty-bang-bang/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Dick Van Dyke treats diners to a performance of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”</strong></em></span></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/08/74-year-old-coach-of-wayde-van-niekerk/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Meet the 74-year-old coach behind South Africa’s golden boy</strong></span></em></a></p> <p><a href="/news/news/2016/08/grandpa-declines-seat-on-rio-train/"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Grandpa declines seat on Rio train in the most impressive way</strong></span></em></a></p>

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