US heat wave, GOP stars in Florida, Baseball Hall of Fame: 5 things to know this weekend

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Excessive heat to impact millions of Americans

Americans can expect oppressive and dangerous heat conditions nationwide this weekend, the National Weather Service warned Friday. Excessive heat warnings Friday affected over 85 million people, and those temperatures and conditions are expected to continue into next week. The most extreme heat is in the Southwest, where triple-digit temperatures are forecast throughout the weekend in Las Vegas and Phoenix. In the Northeast, New York City will see highs topping 90 degrees for at least the next three days. This heat wave could be the longest in nearly a decade. Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., will also see several days of temperatures in the 90s. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu extended a previously announced heat emergency in the city through Sunday and urged resident to take advantage of cooling centers and splash pads.

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Trump, other key Republican figures gather in Florida

Florida's frenetic political scene is going into overdrive as former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis are both set to deliver speeches Saturday night. The Republican Party of Florida is holding the Sunshine Summit in Hollywood and it will be headlined by DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio. The event will help rev up DeSantis' reelection campaign and the state GOP's push for a red wave in November, as other candidates also will be in attendance. Who won't be in attendance, it appears, is members of the media as the party may prohibit reporters from covering its gathering. Meanwhile, Trump will speak in Tampa at a "Student Action Summit" put on by the conservative activist group Turning Point USA. Having Trump and DeSantis speaking at the same time on different sides of the state highlights the growing rivalry between the GOP's two biggest stars. Trump increasingly has indicated that he plans to run for president again, but some polls show Republicans would prefer DeSantis as the party's 2024 nominee.

Pope Francis' Indigenous tour in Canada signals mission legacy rethink

Pope Francis' trip to Canada to apologize for the horrors of church-run Indigenous residential schools marks a radical rethink of the Catholic Church's missionary legacy, spurred on by the first pope from the Americas and the discovery of hundreds of probable graves at the school sites. Francis has said his weeklong visit, which begins Sunday, is a "penitential pilgrimage" to beg forgiveness on Canadian soil for the "evil" done to Native peoples by Catholic missionaries. Another one of the agenda items awaiting Francis, is the restitution of Indigenous and colonial-era artifacts, a debate for museums and collections across Europe. The Vatican's Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum houses thousands of artifacts and art made by Indigenous peoples from around the world, much sent by Catholic missionaries for a 1925 exhibition. But Indigenous groups from Canada, who were shown items in the collection while at the Vatican last spring, question how some of the works were acquired. Some say they want them back.

David Ortiz leads new inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame

The Baseball Hall of Fame is getting seven new members with the induction of the Class of 2022 on Sunday (1:30 p.m. ET, MLB Network). David Ortiz, who hit 541 homeruns in his career and became a Boston Red Sox legend after helping lead the team to three World Series titles (2004, 2007, 2013); the Brooklyn Dodgers' Gil Hodges; pitcher Jim Kaat; Minnie Miñoso, the first known Black Latino player in the majors; Twins outfielder Tony Oliva; Bud Fowler, the first Black professional player; and Buck O'Neil, the face of Negro League baseball, will all be inducted at the Cooperstown, New York, museum. Ortiz was elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, while Hodges, Kaat, Miñoso and Oliva are electees of the Golden Days Era Committee. Fowler and O'Neil were selected by the Early Baseball Era Committee.

Tour de France cyclists will cross the finish line in Paris

The Tour de France is coming to a close this weekend, with one big test left: a 25.5-mile time trial scheduled for Saturday. Cyclists are set to then finish the tour in Paris on Sunday, with Jonas Vingegaard the favorite to win. Vingegaard responded to a series of attacks from defending champion Tadej Pogacar on Thursday and ultimately dropped his main rival in the last big mountain stage of this year’s race. Pogacar, the two-time defending champion, cracked about four kilometers from the finish after spending the day on the attack, taking all the risks and ultimately crashing on a downhill.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US heat wave, GOP stars in Florida: 5 things to know this weekend