"A U.S. federal judge on Thursday ruled that marriages of same-sex couples may resume next week in California, pending the appeal of his earlier decision that overturned a voter-approved ban on gay matrimony. The order to allow gay marriage will take effect at 5 p.m. PDT on August 18. The delay was intended to give an appeals court time to consider "in an orderly manner" whether the ban, known as Proposition 8, should be left intact while it considers the merits of the overall case," reports AP.