WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether a protester who was barred from a military base in California violated a federal law when he took part in demonstrations on a public roadway that crosses government-owned land.

The government asked the justices to overturn a lower court ruling in favor of the protester, John Apel. He successfully argued in a federal appeals court that the law, which prevents people from re-entering bases after they are barred, applies only to land over which the military has exclusive authority.

Apel, who protested against nuclear weapons, was barred from Vandenberg Air Force Base but continued to attend demonstrations outside the base entrance. The public roadway on which the protests took place is located on land owned by the government. Apel was convicted of three counts of trespassing on the base.

The appeals court in San Francisco reversed the convictions, ruling that the government did not have an exclusive right of possession of the area where the alleged trespass took place.

In asking the justices to hear the case, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli wrote in court papers that the government "will be unable to fully enforce a significant federal criminal statute on many military bases" if the ruling was left to stand.

Oral arguments and a ruling are due in the court's next term, which begins in October and ends in June 2014.

The case is U.S. v. Apel, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-1038.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Howard Goller and Paul Simao)

The car rental industry, tied closely to airline traffic and hotel bookings, is seeing strong volumes, helped by a recovery in business travel in the United States. Hertz, which primarily serves corporate customers, is also benefiting from the acquisition of Dollar Thrifty, a big player in the leisure and lower-priced rental market.

Hertz, No. 2 in the car rental market behind privately held Enterprise, will gain from domestic travel which is expected to hit a record high this year, Barron's said.

"Consolidation should bring firmer pricing to the industry and a recent acquisition should allow Hertz to pursue new growth opportunities across more brands," Barron's said.

In the past decade, the number of major car rental companies has dropped from six to three.

In the first quarter, Hertz brand rental rates at airports rose 5.3 percent, Barron's said.

Park Ridge, New Jersey-based Hertz forecasts that revenue, which rose 8.7 percent last year to $9.02 billion, will climb as much as 13.5 percent annually through 2015, and that earnings will come in at $3.10 to $3.30 a share. Apply last week's multiple of 13 times current earnings to that forecast, and the stock is worth $43, Barron's says.

Hertz shares, up about 50 percent this year, closed at $25.20 on Friday.

Hertz does face the challenge of replacing and disposing of cars, and no one is quite sure how Japan's newly cheap yen will affect the prices of new and used vehicles, Barron's said.

(Reporting by Ellen Freilich in New York)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Wildfires, including one that could extend to Native American archaeological sites in New Mexico, raged across the western United States on Monday as dry weather and gusty winds stymied firefighters' efforts to make headway against the flames.

In Southern California, a fast-growing wildfire spread to 30,000 acres, expanding by 50 percent from Sunday to Monday. It has destroyed six homes since it broke out last Thursday.

In New Mexico two smaller fires roared out of control in separate wilderness areas. Firefighters warned that one of them could gain strength during the windy, dry afternoon as it consumed pine trees in its path.

That blaze, the Thompson Ridge fire, changed direction overnight and now could spread to Native American archaeological sites in the Valles Caldera National Preserve, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Dana Howlett said.

The sites include six volcanic mounds important to the Pueblo of Zia indigenous group.

The blaze threatened the communities of Compton Valley, Rancho de la Cueva and Elk Valley, Howlett said. About 50 families were evacuated on Friday and remained out of their homes.

"With the intense heat, the fire gets more intense and you often have trees that are torching, and when that happens, large smoke plumes start going up," Howlett said, adding that from a distance the flames and smoke can make it seem like a volcano is erupting.

Separately, the Tres Lagunas fire in New Mexico's Pecos Wilderness has charred nearly 8,000 acres and was only 5-percent contained, said Fire Information Officer Dick Fleishman.

CHANGE IN DIRECTION

The Southern California blaze, dubbed the Powerhouse fire, grew by some 10,000 acres on Sunday and overnight into Monday, U.S. Forest Service officer Ronald Ashdale said.

The blaze, in the far northern part of Los Angeles County, was 40-percent contained by Monday morning, he said, and a change in its direction meant the number of homes threatened had dropped to 400 from 1,000.

Late Monday afternoon, most the roughly 2,000 residents who had been evacuated were allowed to return home, said Matt Corelli, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.

Evacuations also were ordered in the town of Valley Springs in the California gold country.

Despite cooler, wetter weather that moved in overnight, firefighters say it will take until next Monday to contain the blaze, Ashdale said. For the first time in decades, the Forest Service is using night-flying helicopters to drop water on the flames.

In Colorado, a wildfire that erupted in the foothills west of Denver on Monday has prompted mandatory evacuations of homes within a 4-mile (6.5-km) radius of the blaze, fire officials said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation and there was no estimate of its size, said Jefferson County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Jacki Kelley.

In Alaska, a lightning-sparked fire in the Denali National Park and Preserve had spread across 950 acres of mostly tussock and brush, among ponds still partly covered with ice, park officials said.

The fire broke out shortly after snowmelt and before green shoots had time to appear, leaving dry brush that is easily ignited, said park fire management officer Larry Weddle.

The Denali fire is unusual because it is at relatively high elevation, about 2,700 feet, Weddle said, adding that it is in a remote area and poses no immediate threat to property or people.

A 2,300-acre (930-hectare) fire near Tok in eastern Alaska was threatening the Alaska Highway, but so far no roads have been closed, officials said.

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Los Angeles, Zeie Pollon in Santa Fe, Keith Coffman in Denver, and Yareth Rosen in Anchorage; Writing by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Gary Hill and Xavier Briand)

Perez took down (at)chrisperez54 on Monday, not long after the two-time All-Star gave up a ninth-inning home run to Seattle's Endy Chavez. It was the second straight poor performance by Perez, who allowed back-to-back homers in the ninth on Saturday. The Indians won both games.

Several fans sent Perez harsh comments and there were a few profane remarks made toward him following Monday's win, which completed a four-game sweep by the first-place Indians, who entered Tuesday's game against Detroit leading the AL Central by 2 1-2 games over the Tigers.

Although he was one of the AL's top closers last season, Perez became a target for some fans when he criticized them for not supporting the Indians. Perez has always been active on Twitter, posting a daily favorite song and interacting with his followers.

In a statement released through the team, Perez didn't specify his reason for deactivating his account.

"The decision to deactivate my Twitter account was a personal choice I made in order to maintain the greater focus on the success of the team this season and our shared goals moving forward," he said. "We have an extremely positive and supportive group of players, coaches and staff members in our clubhouse and I want to participate in activities and routines that contribute positively to the culture we're building here.

"Out of respect for my teammates, I want to minimize any potential off-the-field distractions so this is the only time I will comment on this topic. Thank you for your understanding."

Perez was not in Cleveland's clubhouse before pregame batting practice and he did not speak with reporters after leaving the field.

Indians manager Terry Francona was aware of Perez's decision to abandon the social media site.

"I don't know if it's a good idea or a bad idea," he said. "I understand his reasoning was to focus more on what we're doing. I thought his thought process was really good. I don't think I've looked at a Twitter in my life. I don't even know if I know how. But I like his reasoning. I'm cool with it."

Francona wasn't with the Indians last season, but he knows Perez was a polarizing figure. Francona contacted Perez shortly after he was hired by the Indians and said the hard-throwing 27-year-old has been great to deal with and focused this season.

"Terrific and more," Francona said. "His level of communication with me has been fantastic."

Perez, who recorded 39 saves in 2012, is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and six saves this year.

Zimmermann (8-2) allowed two runs and six hits with no walks over seven innings actually raising his ERA to 1.71 on an unseasonably chilly and windy night in the nation's capital. There was at least a bit of heat from the Nationals' bats, which have been going through such a cold spell that manager Davey Johnson said before the game he wouldn't shave again until his lineup started hitting.

As it turned out, the Nationals scored their most runs in a week, and they got four or more in the same inning for the first time almost a month. Steve Lombardozzi, playing second while Danny Espinosa recovers from a broken wrist, had three hits, including a two-out, two-run double that capped the rally in the four-run fifth.

Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (4-3) had his shortest outing of the season, allowing five runs and eight hits over five innings. He walked four for the second consecutive start, including three consecutive bases on balls that allowed the Nationals to score a run in the second with a sacrifice fly and no hits.

The Phillies missed a chance to pull even in two ways. A win would have put them at .500 for the first time since April 14, and it also would have tied them with the Nationals, who had lost four of five and have been mired in mediocrity while dealing with the expectations of Johnson's preseason proclamation of "World Series or bust."

The Nationals just completed a 10-game West Coast road trip that included a four-game losing streak, the team's sixth shutout loss of the season, Bryce Harper's head-first collision with a wall and a broken hand for Ryan Mattheus after he punched his locker following a rough outing. Washington entered the game hitting .225, second worst in the majors, and the scraggly-looking Johnson arrived at the ballpark saying: "I decided I wouldn't shave until we started hitting."

Both teams are missing some star power. The Phillies don't have Roy Halladay (shoulder surgery) and Chase Utley (oblique strain), while the Nationals are making do without Jayson Werth (hamstring) and Espinosa, who learned Friday that he's been playing with a slight fracture in his right wrist and will need a few days of rest, if not more.

Domonic Brown's RBI single in the second and Erik Kratz' sacrifice fly in the fifth gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead, but the Nationals put together five hits in the bottom of the inning to go ahead 5-2. Adam LaRoche hit an RBI triple off the center field wall and Kurt Suzuki had an RBI single before Lombardozzi's drove in two more.

Tyler Clippard pitched the eighth for the Nationals, and Rafael Soriano sailed through the ninth for his 14th save.

Notes: Washington's last four-run inning came April 25 against the Cincinnati Reds. ... Headgear on both players when flying when Tyler Moore crashed into Kratz while trying to score on Lombardozzi's single in the fourth inning. Kratz held on to the ball, and Moore was out. ... Philadelphia recalled INF-OF Michael Martinez and RHP Michael Stutes to replace Utley (disabled list) and RHP Phillippe Aumont (optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley). ... Phillies RHP Mike Adams (right back strain) felt fine after a second rehab bullpen session Friday and is expected to be reactivated Sunday. ... Washington LHP Ross Detwiler will throw a full bullpen session Saturday and remains on pace to return to the rotation Tuesday after skipping one start because of back spasms.

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Follow Joseph White on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Li met with Swiss officials in Zurich on Friday to conclude three years of negotiations.

In an op-ed published Thursday by Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung, Li said the deal showed China was committed to free trade.

Trade between the two nations topped $26 billion last year.

Switzerland is the first European stop on Li's inaugural trip abroad since taking office in March. He travels to Germany on Saturday for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Concerns have grown recently about a possible trade war between China and the European Union over solar energy products.

Switzerland isn't an EU member.

SYDNEY, May 22 (Reuters) - Australia are rightly underdogs for the upcoming Ashes series in England but will do everything they can to bring the coveted urn back home, skipper Michael Clarke said on Wednesday.

There was more talk of aspiration than expectation as the Australia squad officially bid farewell to the country in a ceremony at Sydney airport before their departure for England at the weekend.

England hold the Ashes after a convincing 3-1 series win in 2010-11 and Australia's recent 4-0 drubbing in India has not persuaded many that they have much chance of wresting back the trophy.

"I think it's a fair indication of where both teams are at," Clarke said of the underdogs tag.

"England have a lot of experience. A lot of the guys have been involved in Ashes series before and they're playing some really good cricket.

"Our recent series in India wasn't nearly as good as we would have liked so I accept that we are the underdogs but we'll be doing everything in our power to have success.

"Our goal is to win the series, we know it's going to be tough, but we're going to have a red-hot crack at hopefully winning the Ashes for the Australian people," he added to reporters in a chilly hangar.

While Australia's pace attack will be licking their lips at the prospect of bowling on English wickets, the batsmen had a torrid time in India and, despite his own excellent form over the last two years, Clarke said they all must improve.

"The batters know we didn't perform as well as we needed, we didn't make enough runs and we are certainly accountable for our performances," he said.

"We know that if we can bat well as a unit, that will give our young, talented fast bowlers every opportunity to take 20 wickets."

Opening batsman David Warner arrives back from India, where he has been playing in the Indian Premier League, later on Wednesday to face disciplinary charges for a Twitter rant aimed at two journalists.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Clarke said there would be no constraints on the use of social media by players as a result of the incident and he backed Warner to have learned his lesson.

"The one thing I've been very disciplined about is allowing people to be themselves," Clarke said. "At the end of the day we're all old enough and wise enough to know what you are required to do as an Australian cricketer.

"There's certainly been no talk of stopping players using social media, I think it's a fantastic way to give back to fans."

"I think Davey has great potential to be a leader of the Australian cricket team. He's a wonderful guy and wonderful player.

"He's learned from this... and if he continues to grow as he has over the last few years, there's no reason why he hasn't got the potential to captain Australia one day."

There was good news on the injury front with pace bowler Ryan Harris saying he felt better that he expected after the latest injury to have afflicted him, an Achilles problem.

Clarke's own fitness has also been in the spotlight after he missed the last test in India due to the recurrence of a long-term back problem.

"My body's going pretty well at the moment," he said. "I've had this six or seven weeks to work on my rehab, work on my strength for my hamstring and my back and, touch wood, I think I'm fully fit at this stage.

"You always have niggles... (but) I'm confident I'm as fit as I can be to perform at my best."

Australia defend the Champions Trophy in England next month before the Ashes series, which begins at Trent Bridge on July 10.(Editing by John O'Brien)

The Texans (12-2) had already assured themselves of a place in the playoffs. Their victory means the Colts are not yet sure of a wild-card place although at 9-5 they remain in a strong position.

Arian Foster rushed for 165 yards for Houston while Andre Johnson had 151 yards receiving and scored on a three-yard Matt Schaub pass in the first quarter to put the Texans 10-0 up.

The game turned decisively in Houston's direction in the second quarter when Bryan Braman returned a blocked punt eight yards for a touchdown.

(Reporting By Simon Evans in Miami, editing by Gene Cherry)

The 28 year-old, who finished 24-under-par overall after his three-under round, had begun the day with a 10-shot advantage over Frenchman Gregory Bourdy and never looked in any danger as he reached the turn at level-par for his round.

A two-hour delay for thunderstorms at the Leopard Creek Country Club followed, but the former U.S. Masters champion returned to the 10th hole and cruised to victory with three further birdies and no bogeys.

Sweden's Kristoffer Broberg ended up second.

"I thought I started off well today and through the first six holes I had an opportunity on every hole," Schwartzel told reporters.

"I hit good putts that didn't go in. Then the three-putt on eight put a stop to things and Gregory started to make some birdies. Then it got down to seven shots and that to me was as close as I wanted it to be.

"I was happy to make that birdie on nine just to pull the momentum back in my favor, because seven shots around this course is catchable. After the rain delay we came back and I played some nice, solid golf and put myself back in the driver's seat."

Last week Schwartzel claimed an 11-stroke victory at the Thailand Golf Championship on the Asian Tour, his first win in 20 months, and he dazzled the crowds once again at home as he stormed clear of his rivals for the second week in succession.

"This doesn't happen often. You don't see it happen often. For me it's nice after last week," Schwartzel added.

"Last week I got that win by a big margin, and normally when you come back the next week it's hard to put up the same show.

"That's pleasing and what I keep talking about is consistency. It's back where I like it to be."

Those behind Schwartzel were always fighting it out for second place and for much of the day it looked as though Bourdy was on course for the runners-up cheque.

However, a calamitous double-bogey on the final hole meant he fell back to 11-under and the Frenchman had to settle for a four-way share of third place with Andy Sullivan, Garth Mulroy and Scott Jamieson, while Broberg earned sole possession of second as his final round of 70 took him to 12-under.

Another Swede enjoyed a memorable moment on the day, as Magnus A. Carlsson's seven-iron found the cup for a hole-in-one on the 12th hole.

South Africa's Keith Horne had carded an ace on the very same hole in successive days on Friday and Saturday, but Carlsson's earned the prize of a brand new car as it came during the final round of play.

(Editing by Mark Pangallo)

According to the , the actress, 50, is dating Vito Schnabel, 26.

The pair was reportedly spotted earlier this month at a birthday party for Naomi Campbell's boyfriend Vladimir Doronin in Jodhpur, India, where they were "dancing and grinding all over each other."

Vito, an art dealer, is the son of famed painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Celebrity May-December Romances

The reported new relationship for Demi comes a year after her split from Ashton Kutcher, who she was married to for six years.

Vito has reportedly been previously been linked to Elle Macpherson and Liv Tyler.

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VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywoods Smokin Hot Couples

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