Homes flood as Missouri River overtops, breaches levees; NEWS BRIEFING; Staff and news services; Pa. pediatrician sentenced to 79 years for sex abuse of patients; White House proposes cap on student loans to cut college cost; Genetic genealogy leads to Ala. arrest in 1999 double homicide; Putin, Crimea celebrate 5 years since annexation; Colombia reports 1K Venezuelan forces fled

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Hundreds of homes flooded in several Midwestern states after rivers breached at least a dozen levees following heavy rain and snowmelt in the region, authorities said Monday, warning that the flooding was expected to linger.

About 200 miles of levees were compromised - either breached or overtopped - in four states, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said. Even in places where the water level peaked in those states - Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas - the current was fast and the water so high that damage continued to pile up. The flooding was blamed for at least three deaths.

"The levees are busted and we aren't even into the wet season when the rivers run high," said Tom Bullock, emergency management director for Missouri's Holt County.

He said many homes in a mostly rural area of Holt County were inundated with 6 to 7 feet of water from the swollen Missouri River. He noted that local farmers are only a month away from planting corn and soybeans.

"The water isn't going to be gone, and the levees aren't going to be fixed this year," said Bullock, whose home was now on an island surrounded by floodwater.

One couple was rescued by helicopter after water from three breached levees swept across 40,000 acres, he said. An additional nine breaches were confirmed in Nebraska and Iowa counties south of the Platte River, the Corps said.

In nearby Atchison County, Mo., about 130 people were urged to leave their homes as water levels rose and strained levees, three of which had already been overtopped by water.

Pa. pediatrician sentenced to 79 years for sex abuse of patients

EBENSBURG, Pa. - A former Pennsylvania pediatrician was sentenced to at least 79 years in prison on Monday for the sexual assault of 31 children, most of them patients, in a case that state medical regulators failed to act on nearly two decades ago.

Dr. Johnnie Barto of Johnstown was sentenced on dozens of counts, including aggravated indecent assault and child endangerment. Prosecutors say he spent decades abusing boys and girls in the exam room at his pediatric practice in western Pennsylvania and at local hospitals, with his victims typically ranging in age from 8 to 12. One was an infant.

Nineteen people gave victim impact statements, both in person and through a prosecutor, describing how Barto caused them to feel hopelessness and despair, caused depression and anxiety and instilled a fear of doctors.

White House proposes cap on student loans to cut college cost

The Trump administration on Monday proposed new limits on federal student loans taken out by parents and graduate students as part of a broader proposal to curb the cost of college.

White House officials included the plan in a list of suggested changes to the Higher Education Act, a sweeping federal law that governs student lending. The legislation is getting its first overhaul from Congress in more than a decade.

Ivanka Trump, the daughter and adviser of President Donald Trump, unveiled the plan.

"We need to modernize our higher-education system to make it more affordable, flexible and outcomes-oriented, so all Americans, young and old, can learn the skills they need to secure and retain good-paying jobs," Ivanka Trump said.

Genetic genealogy leads to Ala. arrest in 1999 double homicide

OZARK, Ala. - A truck-driving preacher charged with killing two Alabama teenagers found shot to death in a car trunk nearly 20 years ago was tied to the slayings through a DNA match uncovered with genetic genealogy testing, authorities said Monday.

The analysis linked evidence that sat for years in a police freezer to Coley McCraney, 45, of Dothan, Ala., police said.

McCraney was taken into custody Friday and booked Saturday on rape and capital murder charges, according to officials and jail records.

He now faces a potential death penalty in the killings in 1999 of Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley, both 17, who disappeared on the way to a party.

Hawlett's mother, Carol Roberts, said she went numb when she heard of McCraney's arrest.

Putin, Crimea celebrate 5 years since annexation

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin led thousands to chant "Russia!" on a visit Monday to Crimea marking the fifth anniversary of the Black Sea penisula's annexation from Ukraine, as NATO and the European Union once again strongly condemned the land grab by Russia.

Speaking at an outdoor concert in Crimea's regional capital of Simferopol, the Russian leader hailed Crimea's residents, likening them to the Red Army soldiers of World War II.

"Russia has taken you into its fold with delight and joy," he told the crowd. "We will fulfill all of our goals because we are together now."

Putin began his trip by attending the launch of new power plants in Crimea, part of Moscow's efforts to upgrade the region's infrastructure. Ukraine has cut off energy supplies to the peninsula.

Colombia reports 1K Venezuelan forces fled

CARACAS, Venezuela - About 1,000 members of the Venezuelan security forces have fled to Colombia since last month, giving up weapons and uniforms as they abandoned the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Colombian authorities said Monday.

Colombia's foreign ministry released the updated number of Venezuelan police and military personnel who crossed the border, many around the time of a Feb. 23 attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido to deliver U.S.-provided humanitarian aid to Venezuela. The attempt failed because Venezuelan forces blocked trucks trying to cross from Colombia into Venezuela.

The deserters have received lodging, health care and legal aid, and were accompanied by some 400 family members, Colombian officials said.

In Mali: Mali's army says heavily armed men have attacked a camp in central Mali, killing at least 23 soldiers. The army said Monday the attack Sunday, which is the most deadly against the army this year, took place in the village of Dioura. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but it bears the mark of al-Qaida-related jihadi groups that have been regularly attacking the army and international forces in central Mali. The army has blamed Ba Ag Moussa, a former Malian army colonel who deserted in 2012 to join the Tuareg rebellion before joining al-Qaida. However, the announcement comes as integrating former rebels into the army as part of a peace agreement is being debated.

Caption: Volunteers fill sandbags Monday in preparation for flooding along the Missouri River in St Joseph, Mo. Hundreds of homes have been flooded in Midwestern states.

Orlin Wagner/AP