COLUMBUS, Ohio —

A federal appeals court ruling Wednesday revives unsettled lawsuits against Ohio State University over decades-old sexual abuse by the late team doctor Richard Strauss.

A district judge in Columbus had dismissed most of the unsettled cases, acknowledging that hundreds of young men were abused but agreeing with the university’s argument that the legal time limit for the claims had long passed.

The plaintiffs argued that the clock didn’t start until the allegations came to light in 2018, and that their cases should be allowed to continue.

Two of the three judges on the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that heard the case concluded in Wednesday's ruling that the men “plausibly allege a decades-long cover up” and “adequately allege that they did not know and could not reasonably have known that Ohio State injured them until 2018.”

“Ohio State is a vast institution, and the plaintiffs’ allegations underscore how difficult it is for a student to know what appropriate persons within the Ohio State administration knew” about abuse allegations, Judge Karen Nelson Moore wrote in the decision.

Lead plaintiff Steve Snyder-Hill said it's a huge ruling for the survivors, who believe it could influence other sexual misconduct cases at universities.

“Our lawyer argued that if OSU had gotten away with what they were trying to do here, with getting this motion thrown out on the statute of limitations, then they would have paved the way and given a playbook for all these other universities to do the same thing that they've done, and I'm glad that this court saw through it and didn't let it happen,” Snyder-Hill said.

Judge Ralph B. Guy Jr. dissented with the decision, writing that the clock on the claims ran out decades ago and that the court's decision “effectively nullifies any statute of limitations for Title IX claims based on sexual harassment.”

Ohio State is reviewing the ruling, university spokesperson Benjamin Johnson said by email.

Hundreds of former student-athletes and other alumni say they were abused by Strauss during his two decades at the school, and that Ohio State officials failed to stop him despite knowing about complaints. The men alleged Strauss abused them during medical exams, required physicals and other encounters at campus athletic facilities, a student health center, his home and an off-campus clinic.

The doctor died in 2005. No one has publicly defended him.

The university has reiterated apologies for anyone he harmed, and it has reached over $60 million in settlements with at least 296 survivors.

The school sought to dismiss remaining cases, saying it didn't intend to disrespect the men or their allegations but the claims were made years too late.

OSU's lawyer has argued that if the doctor's behavior and Ohio State's inaction during his tenure were as egregious as alleged, the students knew enough that, legally speaking, they should have started inquiring about possible recourse back then.

Wednesday's ruling said the appeals court can’t say whether the plaintiffs’ “snippets of knowledge” should have prompted them to investigate further. That, the ruling said, “is a question of fact - one that is improper to resolve at the motion-to-dismiss stage."

Two groups totaling more than 100 survivors appealed the dismissal, contending the two-year window for the claims didn't start until 2018, when the men began to speak out and the school hired a law firm to investigate. Until then, most of the plaintiffs didn't recognize their experiences as abuse, and they didn't know that OSU’s indifference to students' concerns allowed the abuse to continue for years, an attorney for the men said during arguments on the appeal.

Strauss joined Ohio State in 1978 and was on the faculty and medical staff. He was able to retire in 1998 with emeritus status. School trustees revoked that mark of honor three years ago.

Federal prosecutors announced earlier this week that an Ohio man pleaded guilty to attempting to conduct a mass shooting of women at Ohio State University.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio said 22-year-old Tres Genco, of Hillsboro, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of attempting to commit a hate crime.

According to prosecutors, Genco, who identified as "Incel," which is short for involuntarily celibate, faces a life sentence because it involved an attempt to kill.

"The Incel movement is an online community of predominantly men who harbor anger towards women," prosecutors said in a news release. "Incels advocate violence in support of their belief that women unjustly deny them sexual or romantic attention to which they believe they are entitled."

Genco was arrested and charged last July after investigators found many writings that dated back to 2019, prosecutors said.

According to court documents, investigators found in these writings, one including a manifesto, where he wrote that he would “slaughter” women “out of hatred, jealousy, and revenge…” and referred to death as the “great equalizer," prosecutors said.

On the day he wrote the manifesto, prosecutors said Genco also searched for sororities and a university in Ohio online, according to court records.

According to court records, investigators found that Genco conducted surveillance at the school on Jan. 15, 2020, prosecutors said.

The Cincinnati Inquirer reported that he wanted to conduct the shooting at the Ohio State University.

“Genco formulated a plot to kill women and intended to carry it out. Our federal and local law enforcement partners stopped that from happening,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker said in a news release. “Hate has no place in our country – including gender-based hate – and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to vigorously prosecute any such conduct.”

Big Ten coaches, athletic directors and medical personnel are working on multiple plans for staging a football season — including one that would have the league kicking off as soon as Thanksgiving weekend.

The conference is in the early stages of a complicated process that also involves broadcast partners and possible neutral-site venues, a person with direct knowledge of the conference’s discussions told The Associated Press.

The person spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because the Big Ten was not making public its efforts to have a football season that starts in either late fall or winter. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported the Big Ten was considering a possible Thanksgiving start to the season.

The Big Ten announced on Aug. 11 it was postponing its fall football season because of concerns about playing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pac-12 soon followed suit, but six other major college football conferences, including the powerhouse Southeastern Conference, are still forging ahead toward a season that will start in September.

The Big Ten and first-year commissioner Kevin Warren have faced pushback and criticism ever since, including a lawsuit filed by eight Nebraska players who want the decision overturned.

The Big Ten’s decision and the subsequent backlash have trickled into politics in this election year, with Democrats and Republicans pointing fingers over who is responsible for taking away college football in the Midwest.

“No, I want Big Ten, and all other football, back - NOW,” President Donald Trump tweeted. “The Dems don’t want football back, for political reasons, but are trying to blame me and the Republicans. Another LIE, but this is what we are up against!"

Any plan will need the approval of university presidents and chancellors, and the Big Ten will only play if certain benchmarks related to the coronavirus — such as transmission rates, testing capacity and availability, and testing accuracy — are met in each of the 11 states that are home to the league’s 14 schools.

“If they are met, that’s when they’ll get back,” the person told AP.

Several coaches, including Ohio State’s Ryan Day, have already said the sooner the Big Ten can start a delayed season the better. Day has endorsed starting in early January and that idea has been on the table practically since the decision to postpone came down, the person said.

Starting in late fall was an idea some coaches laid out earlier this week, the person said.

One option includes playing games at domed stadiums across the Midwest, including in Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Detroit, another person with knowledge of the discussions told AP on condition of anonymity.

The person said using neutral sites could help broadcast partners televise the games and help avoid potential complications of playing through winter weather.

A two-pronged-plan, laying out a framework for how a season can be staged and what benchmarks need to be met for it to be safe enough to play during the pandemic, could be rolled out by the Big Ten within two weeks, the first person said.

CINCINNATI — New parents discharged from The Christ Hospital are taking home more than just a newborn - they get a book and encouragement to start reading to their baby immediately.

The Christ Hospital Health Network started handing out books this week, and it expects to hand out 3,400 books this year.

"You should be reading to your children basically from the moment they're born," said Dr. Jenny Demos, associate medical director of the Liberty Birthing Center. "They like listening to your voice and hearing words and seeing pictures on the book and it makes reading a special time, so they grow to enjoy it."

A 2019 Ohio State University study found 4 million American children under age 3 had never been read to in their lifetime.

"They like to hear those words and see the pictures and start to make those connections as they become more developmentally aware," Demos said.

The Christ Hospital Health Network partnered with Pampers and Scholastic to bring diverse and bilingual books to new parents as part of the network's "Surprise and Delight" program, which also includes the limited-edition onesie program on certain celebratory days in Cincinnati.

Susan and Jordan Sayatovic were among the first to receive a book. They received "The Wheels on the Bus," which they read with baby Nora.

The Christ Hospital

A 2020 survey found 45% of parents believe they shouldn't start reading to a child until they turn 2.

"At Pampers, we believe a baby’s earliest days are essential toward shaping a bright beginning,” Sarah Pasquinucci, senior communications director for P&G North America Baby Care, wrote in a news release. “Through Pampers Bright Beginnings, our goal is to help every baby experience the benefits of being read to from birth and we are thrilled to be able to achieve this at a local level through our partnership with The Christ Hospital.”

Pampers Bright Beginnings program also includes community partnerships in other cities across the country and a longstanding relationship with the March of Dimes. An advisory council guides the program's efforts and includes professor and co-director of the Cincinnati Children's Pediatric Education Center, Dr. Tom DeWitt.

The Christ Hospital Health Network started giving out books the last week of January, and it expects to receive more books for distribution through June.

Scientists are still piecing together how the coronavirus spread from animals to humans.

So far, we know the virus likely originated from a bat and somehow jumped to a pangolin before it made its way to humans.

Now, researchers at Ohio State University are taking a closer look at coronavirus transmission, and how it's possible for the virus to jump from humans back to animals.

“So, we're looking in environments like wastewater and storm water. We're also looking at animals around Ohio, from domestic animals to wildlife,” said Dr. Vanessa Hale at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

We've already seen it happen. Mink in Denmark got infected with coronavirus after coming into contact with humans.

The mink got very sick and developed variations that can jump back to humans.

The virus does not need to jump to another species to evolve, but it is more likely to happen.

“The evolutionary pressures may be different in different hosts, so if you have a different body temperature, a different physiology, there may be various pressures that cause various types of mutations in the virus,” said Hale.

Researchers at Ohio State are trying to get ahead and find out more about these types of mutations.

It can help them understand whether a mutation is more infectious, whether there could be future infections, and whether the existing vaccines can fight against them.

Researchers say right now, only mink are playing a significant role in human infection.

It is possible for regular household pets to infect humans and vice versa, but so far, we've seen very low rates of that happening.