PASADENA, Calif. — The 2012 Tournament of Roses brought its flowery floats and strutting bands to a worldwide audience Monday under clear blue skies, and in its wake came a scruffier parade – hundreds of anti-Wall Street protesters.

The 123rd annual New Year’s Day event, with the theme “Just Imagine,” flowed along downtown Pasadena to the cheers of hundreds of thousands of sidewalk spectators.

An estimated 40 million people viewed this year’s procession of 44 floats, 16 marching bands and 22 equestrian troupes on U.S. television.

There were 10 arrests overnight, including four felonies, as thousands of spectators staked out viewing places along the route but that figure was down from the previous year, police said.

On the heels of the two-hour parade came anti-Wall Street protesters in a pre-arranged demonstration.

The thunder of the retreating marching bands mingled in the air with chants of “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out” as the Occupy the Rose Parade demonstrators retraced about 1.5 miles of the 5.5-mile parade route before veering off for a rally near City Hall.

They carried a 250-foot-long banner that said “We the People” to represent the U.S. Constitution.

Some also held a 70-foot-long octopus made from recycled plastic bags that represented the tentacles of perceived corporate greed.

“This is about getting money out of politics,” said Greg Stevens, a 38-year-old public health lecturer at the University of Southern California. “I support everything this movement is about.”

As the protesters marched by, some Rose Parade spectators yelled “Get a job” while others snapped photos and cheered. Behind the protesters came three truckloads of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in riot gear but no arrests were immediately made and the protest was noisy but peaceful.

This year’s parade featured Iraq war veteran J.R. Martinez as grand marshal, the children and grandchildren of Roy Rogers on a float commemorating cowboys, and the parents of Christina-Taylor Green, the 9-year-old girl killed in the mass shooting that injured U.S. Rep Gabrielle Giffords last year, on the Donate Life float honoring organ donors. The Greens donated their daughter’s corneas.

Aretha Franklin is engaged to longtime friend

NEW YORK — Aretha Franklin is engaged to longtime friend William “Willie” Wilkerson.

The Grammy-winning singer said Monday that she and Wilkerson are considering a summer wedding, perhaps in Miami Beach, Fla.

The Queen of Soul wants to follow the ceremony with a reception on a private yacht.

The 69-year-old joked: “No, I’m not pregnant.”

Franklin and Wilkerson became engaged over the holidays.

She is considering Vera Wang, Valentino and Donna Karan to design her dress.

Franklin has been married twice before.

Powerball ticket prices go up to $2 on Jan. 15

DES MOINES, Iowa — Get ready to pay more for Powerball: Ticket prices are going up to $2.

Lottery organizers hope the price change will entice more people to play because jackpots are getting bigger and the odds of winning are improving.

The move is a strategy to differentiate the game from Mega Millions, another big-money, multi-state lottery game that sells for $1 a ticket. Both games are sold in 42 states, plus the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington, D.C. Both have drawings twice a week but are played on different nights.

Lottery officials say they are betting players will like the variety and changes made in the game. But some players say the price increase may keep them from playing as often or not at all.

The price change takes effect Jan. 15.

Copy the Story Link