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As Italy's elections results came in Monday, the country appeared headed toward political gridlock, a development that rattled financial markets hoping for a clear result.

A center-left coalition, headed by Pier Luigi Bersani and favored in pre-election polls, looked like it would win the lower house of parliament, according to partial results.

But in a surprise, the center-right grouping, headed by the former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, appeared to be ahead in the upper house.

And NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reported from Rome that there were other surprises as well:

The wild-card 5 Star Movement, headed by comedian-turned politician Beppe Grillo, is doing better than expected and may become the biggest single party.

TV network anchors and guests appeared confused and rattled by projections that conflicted with earlier exit polls in a country where many people are hesitant to reavel exactly who they're voting for.

Haven't had a chance to watch the Oscar-nominated documentary shorts? All Things Considered is here to help. In the week leading up to the Academy Awards, NPR's Audie Cornish talked with the directors of the five short films nominated for best documentary short.

The films tell a range of stories — about a preventable disease that's ravaging Africa and the quiet loneliness of Florida retirees, the vibrant art of a homeless teenager and the hard life of "canners," and finally a salon that helps women with cancer cope with their scars.

'Mondays At Racine': For Cancer Patients, A Salon Treatment
One Monday each month, sisters Cynthia and Rachel open the doors to their hair salon, free, to cancer patients. As filmmaker Cynthia Wade documents, the time at the salon spent with hats and wigs does more than address hair loss; it helps women cope with the physical and emotional scars of cancer. (All Things Considered audio and transcript, Feb. 22, 2013)

"Electricity is the most likely out of all of the alternative fuels ... to be the next fuel for the consumer."

That's what Jonathan Strickland of the website How Stuff Works tells NPR's Jacki Lyden.

But electric vehicles are not without their controversies or challenges. One of the biggest questions is how a transition from gasoline to electric fuel can actually take place.

Estonia is making that leap. The country now has a nationwide charging network for electric cars, making the claim that it's the first country to do so.

The head of Estonia's program, Jarmo Tuisk, said in an interview with Reuters:

"We have proved that there is a real possibility to set up a network in a country, and there are no technical barriers."

So how many Estonians are actually taking part? Here's what Reuters reports:

"Estonia, with a population of about 1.2 million, has 619 all-electric cars, of which 500 are used by public authorities, and about 100 by private people and companies.

"That amounts to one electric vehicle for every 1,000 cars, second only to Norway, which has four per 1,000. The Netherlands is third at 0.6 per 1,000."

One of the most important events in the national gun violence debate will take place Tuesday — in the snows of Chicago, a thousand miles from Newtown, Conn., or Washington, D.C.

That's where Democratic voters will choose their nominee to replace Jesse Jackson Jr. Because the district is so heavily Democratic, the winner will almost certainly be sworn in at the Capitol following the April general election.

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