A severed hand travels down a conveyor belt in a coal plant -- the pale, smooth skin of the hand half buried in shards of black coal. This macabre yet visually arresting scene sets the tone for "Black Coal, Thin Ice," a Chinese arthouse thriller that has achieved the miraculous triple whammy of winning over critics, captivating audiences, and pleasing the notorious Film Bureau censorship panel.

The Crimean crisis hits close to home – very close for many in Sacramento, home to one of the largest Ukrainian diaspora communities in the United States. While targeted sanctions against Russia are about to kick in and the tense situation throughout Ukraine remains unpredictable, American policies going forward are likely to be influenced by Ukrainian nationals over time, even after the story fades from current news cycles.

Earlier this month, the US Commerce Department announced a plan to back away from its last direct involvement in running the Internet. The man who made that decision, Lawrence Strickling, sees the government's role today as merely "clerical," but letting go of even that sends an important symbolic message: The Internet is all grown up now.

Governors Jan Brewer (Ariz.) and Brian Sandoval (Nev.) met at the Hoover Dam March 21 to unveil signs that promote the future route of the Interstate 11 (I-11). A project Governor Brewer has enthusiastically championed to better connect Arizona to national and international trade partners, I-11 will serve as the main corridor for commerce and transportation between Mexico, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on dozens of high-ranking Russians in retaliation for Moscow's seizure and annexation of Crimea. The idea, of course, is that imposing asset freezes and visa bans on these individuals will make them think twice when contemplating, say, further military moves against the rest of Ukraine. 

Tom Cochran, the Chief Technology Officer at Atlantic Media and the former Director of New Media Technologies at the White House, is joining the State Department on Monday to take the lessons of the Obama campaign and apply them to American foreign policy around the globe.