Apply changes from PR #6266 - #636

Node.js 20 is deprecated. The following actions target Node.js 20 but are being forced to run on Node.js 24: actions/cache@v4, actions/checkout@v2, actions/checkout@v4, actions/download-artifact@v4.1.7, actions/setup-python@v2, actions/upload-artifact@v4, actions/upload-artifact@v4.4.0. For more information see: https://github.blog/changelog/2025-09-19-deprecation-of-node-20-on-github-actions-runners/