When it came time to deliver a new federal report detailing what global warming is doing to America and the dire forecast for the future, President Barack Obama turned to the pros who regularly deliver the bad news about wild weather: TV meteorologists.

"We want to emphasize to the public, this is not some distant problem of the future. This is a problem that is affecting Americans right now," Obama told "Today" show weathercaster Al Roker. "Whether it means increased flooding, greater vulnerability to drought, more severe wildfires — all these things are having an impact on Americans as we speak."

A U.S. judge has approved the release of five photos that prosecutors entered into evidence in the assault trial of singer Chris Brown's bodyguard.

One image shows Brown posing with two women outside a Washington hotel last year before the alleged assault. Another shows Brown and bodyguard Christopher Hollosy in custody.

Winslow Homers in the shadow of a defunct Beech-Nut baby food plant. A Rembrandt, Picasso, Rubens and Renoir up the hill from a paper mill. The founder of the Hudson River School vying for attention amid baseball memorabilia and old farm machinery.

There are plenty of treasures to be found among the collections of lesser-known, off-the-beaten-path art museums dotting upstate New York. But they're well worth the trek for anyone looking for great art in unexpected places, whether it's the rolling, bucolic countryside typical of many areas or the industrial grittiness of riverside mill towns.

"Avatar" actor Sam Worthington is on track to get his New York assault case dismissed after being accused of punching a photographer, who also was arrested.

The Australian actor was due in court Thursday. But electronic court records show the misdemeanor case was resolved April 8 with an agreement that it will be dismissed if Worthington stays out of trouble for six months. The Daily News first reported on the development.

Austrian qualifier Dominic Thiem scored the biggest victory of his young career on Tuesday when he rallied for a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over third-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka at the Madrid Open.

The 20-year-old Thiem showed composure beyond his years in knocking the Australian Open champion out of the clay court event to reach the third round.

A Claude Monet painting out of the public eye for decades sold Tuesday for just over $27 million, leading the bidding at an auction of art from the estates of heiress Huguette Clark, businessman Edgar Bronfman and other major collectors.

"Water Lilies," Monet's 1907 rendition of his beloved garden in Giverny, France, went to an undisclosed Asian buyer in the season-opening auction of impressionist and modern art at Christie's. The painting, part of Clark's collection since 1930, has not been publicly exhibited since 1926.

Defending champion Miami and perennial power San Antonio asserted their claims to the NBA title with authoritative wins on Tuesday in the opening games of their NBA second-round playoff series.

Miami was too good for its bogey team Brooklyn, beating the Nets 107-86, while San Antonio led from start to finish in beating Portland 116-92.

Manchester United unearthed a potential star of the future and perhaps had one last glimpse of a great of its recent past in a 3-1 win over Hull on Tuesday that kept alive the team's chances of European football next season.

Highly rated striker James Wilson, 18, marked his senior debut for United with predatory strikes in either half, setting the deposed champions on their way to a victory in their final home game of a forgettable Premier League campaign.

Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal will undergo knee surgery Wednesday, just five weeks before his country's first match at the World Cup.

Vidal visited specialist surgeon Ramon Cugat in Barcelona on Tuesday, accompanied by doctors from Chile's national team as well as those from his club Juventus.

Roger Federer withdrew from the Madrid Open on Tuesday to spend more time with his family ahead of the birth of his third child.

Federer said on his webpage on Tuesday he was pulling out of the tournament "to be with my wife Mirka during these next few exciting weeks for our family." The fourth-ranked Swiss player, who already has twins, said he would "rejoin the tour soon."