New Jersey Lt Gov Sheila Oliver has died one day after being hospitalised for treatment for an undisclosed medical issue while serving as acting governor. Ms Oliver was taken to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston on Monday, while Governor Phil Murphy was in Italy on a family vacation. Her family confirmed her death at the age of 71 in a statement on Tuesday. “It is with incredible sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the passing of the Honorable Sheila Y. Oliver, Lieutenant Governor of the State of New Jersey,” the family said in a statement to ABC7. “She was not only a distinguished public servant but also our cherished daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and hero.” No cause of death has been released. In a statement, Gov Murphy said he and his family were “incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend, colleague, and partner in government.” Ms Oliver, a Democrat, was selected as Gov Murphy’s running mate in 2017, and was a “trailblazer in every sense of the word”, he said. In 2010, she became the first Black woman to serve as Speaker of the General Assembly, and was the second Black woman in US history to lead a house of a state legislature. “I knew then that her decades of public service made her the ideal partner for me to lead the State of New Jersey. It was the best decision I ever made.” Democratic Senate President Nicholas Scutari is serving as acting governor, the governor’s spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna said. The governor will be returning to the US “soon”, Mr Gunaratna added. Along with serving as Gov Murphy’s top lieutenant, Ms Oliver also oversaw the Department of Community Affairs, which coordinates state aid to towns and cities and supervises code enforcement. She had been twice elected to the lieutenant governor’s role in 2017 and 2021, becoming the second person to hold the post in New Jersey. Born and raised in Newark, Ms Oliver earned a degree in sociology from Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University before being elected to the Essex County board of chosen freeholders in 1996. Ms Oliver had served on the New Jersey assembly since 2004. “She brought a unique and invaluable perspective to our public policy discourse and served as an inspiration to millions of women and girls everywhere, especially young women of colour,” Gov Murphy said in a statement. “Beyond all of that, she was an incredibly genuine and kind person whose friendship and partnership will be irreplaceable.” Ms Oliver’s family requested privacy, and said details of a memorial service would be provided at a later date. Read More New Jersey sues federal highway officials in bid to stop New York City's plan to charge big tolls Manhattan architect, family man and accused serial killer: Who is Gilgo Beach suspect Rex Heuermann? Chris Christie slams Trumps as ‘Corleones with no experience’ New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, first Black woman to serve as state Assembly speaker, dies at 71 The first generation of solar panels will wear out. A recycling industry is taking shape Blue blood from horseshoe crabs is valuable for medicine, but a declining bird needs them for food

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A missile strike on a mail depot in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has killed six people and injured 16 others, officials said on Sunday. The blast was caused by a Russian S-300 rocket, Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. All of the victims were employees of private Ukrainian postal and courier service Nova Poshta. In a statement, the company said the air raid siren had sounded just moments before the attack, leaving those inside the depot with no time to reach shelter. It announced that Sunday would be a day of mourning for the firm. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video showing the building with destroyed windows and construction materials strewn across the floor. He described the strike as an attack on an “ordinary civilian object”. “We need to respond to Russian terror every day with results on the front line. And, even more so, we need to strengthen global unity in order to fight against this terror,” he wrote on social media. “Russia will not be able to achieve anything through terror and murder. The end result for all terrorists is the same: the need to face responsibility for what they have done.” Elsewhere in the Kharkiv region, three people were injured in Russian shelling on the city of Kupiansk, Mr Syniehubov said. The Ukrainian-held frontline city has been at the heart of fierce fighting as both Moscow and Kyiv push for battlefield breakthroughs amid the looming onset of wintry conditions. Officials in southern Ukraine said on Sunday that the Russian military had used a record number of aerial bombs over the country’s Kherson region in the past 24 hours. Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South, said 36 missiles had been recorded over the area, with some villages being hit by several strikes. It comes as further south in the east, Ukraine has been trying to stop a new push by Russian forces to gain more territory there, amid Kyiv’s gruelling counteroffensive that has continued for months. Moscow’s drive to capture the town of Avdiivka encountered fierce resistance on Saturday, Ukraine’s military said, with defences bolstered by fortifications erected nearly a decade ago. “The enemy is becoming more active, but is incurring heavy losses,” General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of Ukraine’s troops in the south, said on Telegram. Russia’s Defence Ministry, in its evening report, made no mention of Avdiivka, but reported strikes on areas outside Bakhmut, a town seized by Moscow’s forces in May after months of battles. Both towns are in the eastern Donetsk region. Avdiivka has withstood enemy attacks for months. Video footage shows buildings in ruins and streets barely distinguishable. The town was briefly captured in 2014 by Russian-backed separatists who seized large swathes of eastern Ukraine, but was retaken by Ukrainian forces who built solid fortifications. The Institute for the Study of War, a US think-tank, said Russian troops had “marginally advanced” near Avdiivka. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Aftermath of Russian missile strike on Ukraine mail depot that killed six Ukrainian officials say civilians were killed and wounded in Russian overnight attacks Russian attacks kill six in Ukraine as Kyiv ramps up drone counterstrikes NATO member Romania finds more drone fragments on its soil after Russian again hits southern Ukraine Russia claims `neo-Nazis' were at wake for Ukrainian soldier in village struck by missile killing 52 ‘Six killed in Kharkiv strike’ as Kherson sees ‘record’ bomb attacks - live

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