Axios

"Dangerously hot" conditions may peak across portions of interior California, the Great Basin, the Southwest and South Texas on Friday. Still, extreme heat is likely to "plod" into next week, the National Weather Service warned.

The big picture: Heat alerts remain in effect for about 25 million people Friday, after widespread temperature records were tied or broken in California, Nevada and Arizona Thursday — including in Phoenix, where 11 people who were waiting in line to enter a Trump rally were hospitalized due to heat-related illnesses.

Gene editing's next chapter will be focused on tackling cancers and more common diseases, uncovering new details about aging and other fundamental aspects of biology and editing RNA, top scientists in the field said this week.

The big picture: The potential of CRISPR gene-editing technology was realized six months ago, when the Food and Drug Administration approved the first therapy that uses the system to treat sickle-cell anemia. Now, scientists are setting their sights on more complex molecular targets.

Boeing's Starliner successfully docked on Thursday with the International Space Station (ISS) during its long-awaited first crewed mission after entering Earth's orbit from a Cape Canaveral launch the day prior.

Why it matters: A successful mission is critical for Starliner to be declared an operational crew system by NASA and for Boeing to begin competing with SpaceX for additional missions to the space station.

SpaceX's Starship and its massive reusable booster both successfully made their first controlled water landing during a fourth flight test on Thursday.

Why it matters: It's a significant achievement for the vehicle, which is key to NASA's Artemis program.

The hottest temperatures to hit the U.S. this year were sweeping across California and the Southwest into Thursday — and the "dangerous" heat's expected to bring record temperatures to much of the region before expanding eastwards this week.

The big picture: Excessive heat warnings and watches extended from the central valley down through southern California's deserts, southern Nevada and southern and western Arizona and into Utah, affecting over 29 million early Monday after the heat began building a day earlier.

Multiple tornadoes reported across the U.S. on Wednesday left a toddler dead in suburban Detroit, Michigan, and several people injured in a Maryland suburb just outside of Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

The big picture: The storms that unleashed the tornadoes come during one of the busiest tornado seasons on record in the U.S, per the National Weather Service.