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Where In The World: Weekend Recap
Click the graphic source to view the map and read more about the story.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican Statehood
The U.S. territory of Puerto Rico has voted to become America's 51st state. The election, which has historically low voter turnout, yielded more than 97% in favor of Puerto Rican statehood. Ricardo Rosello, the Governor, has been pushing for statehood as the best way to deal with Puerto Rico's $73 billion debt. Despite the economic depression, the island's two other main political parties pushed for a boycott of the vote.

Governor Rosello campaigned on a promise of Puerto Rican statehood. This map shows the election results of Governor Rosello's victory in 2016. Click on the map to expand.
Further Reading: BBCNY Times, CNN, ABC, NBC, Al Jazeera, NPR
Graphic Source: Elections in Puerto Rico
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Russia
Imprisoned Iconoclast
Russian politician and Putin critic Alexei Navalny was detained in front of his Moscow apartment block earlier Monday as he attempted to join protests against the Kremlin. Navalny had organized the Moscow protest and several others as a way of helping the public speak out against the wrong-doings of the Kremlin. Navalny's was not the only arrest this morning as St. Petersburg authorities claim as many as 300 have been detained. The Kremlin has yet to comment on the events.

This map shows the location of similar protests that were held in March of this year. Click on the map to learn more about the political situation in Russia.  
Graphic Source: Stratfor
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Click the graphic source to view the map and read more about the story.
Afghanistan
Unseen Enemy
Three U.S. Soldiers were killed on Sunday when they were attacked by an Afghani security soldier. The soldiers were attacked in what is known as a "green on blue" incident, the code for attacks where Coalition forces are attacked by Afghani troops. The shooting happened in the Achin district where U.S. and Afghan forces have been working to take down a local ISIS member. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack. Vice President Pence responded: "When heroes fall, Americans grieve. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of American heroes."

This map depicts the location where the attack occurred. Click on the map to expand. 
Further Reading: NBC, FOX, Washington Post, ABC
Graphic Source: CNN
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Click the graphic source to view the map and read more about the story.
Virginia
Colorful Clouds
NASA is scheduled to conduct a test of the atmosphere by firing a rocket that will create color clouds in the sky. The rocket is set to launch around 9:00 pm ET and will be fired from Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia. The particles are said to be visible from New York down to North Carolina and as far west as Charlottesville, Virginia. The goal of the mission is to have a better understanding of the ionosphere and aurora. By shooting these particles into the air, scientists will be able to visually track the movement of the particles. Citizens in those areas of the east coast of the U.S. are encouraged to observe the spectacle in the evening.

This map shows the ranges at which the NASA man-made clouds will be visible. Click on the map to expand.
Graphic Source: Newsweek
Maps Do It Better
Geospatial Technology Leading The Way To Save Wildlife
In Kenya's Tsavo National Park, stopping elephant poaching is sadly easier said than done. Despite valiant efforts in the past, many elephants are still killed for their tusks. Luckily, AGS Councilor and head of the International Fund for Animal Welfare Faye Cuevas is implementing GIS technologies developed by Fulcrum to track where the elephants are being poached to better learn how to defend them. Fulcrum is a leading developer in mobile data collection and geospatial data presentation, without which the fight against poaching in Africa would be much more difficult. The map shown below, seen at 4:10 in the video, is one of the first ever maps made charting the locations of poaching grounds in the park. What's more, the mobile data collection ability allowed this map to be made in the field, giving the park rangers an added edge in logging accurate data.
Further Reading & Graphic Source: Connect2Conserve
GeoQuestion
Friday's Answer
Q: Although Mt. Everest is the highest peak which mountain is closest to the moon?
 
A: Mount Chimborazo 
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth, so it would stand to reason that the top of the mountain would be the highest point on Earth. However, due to the forces of gravity on our planet, Earth is slightly inflated around the equator. Therefore, countries like Ecuador and Kenya have a bit of an edge. With this added elevation, the top of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo (which is only 20,564 feet tall) is closest to the stars.

 
 
 
 
 
Today's Question
Q: Which European country is doubly-landlocked, meaning that it is a landlocked country completely surrounded by other landlocked countries?
 
Stay tuned for tomorrow's DailyGeo where we reveal the correct answer!
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