Jokes aside, it’s no surprise that political campaigns are chomping at the bit to utilize social media sites in every way possible right now. A new up and comer for this is Pinterest, which has had exponential increases in traffic since its creation in 2010. With an estimated 68% to possible 97% statistic of women users, it has become a target outlet for female voters.

Today’s world news round-up. An independent breakdown of notable global developments in a news update.

The Guardian - Egypt's former intelligence chief Omar Suleiman dies in US

House Democrats launched their annual social media competition "Member Online All-Star Competition" Monday, aimed to encourage members to gain as many new followers on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the coming weeks.

Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (Md.), who recently spearheaded an effort to increase voter registration via an online application, speaks to the importance of social media to the Democratic party.

Congressman Ron Paul, who is serving his last term in the US House, had one final chance to cross examine Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Wednesday during the chairman's testimony to the House Financial Services Committee.

President Barack Obama made a comment stating 'you didn't build that' during a speech in Roanoke, VA that has been mangled and twisted by Fox News, the Romney campaign, and the right then set the internet abuzz. Watch the clip below as the President refers to the support of other Americans necessary for all of us to succeed:

With 16 weeks unti the general election, there has been a noticeable increase in negative advertising by both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. According to Kantar Media, 89% of Obama’s ad buys featured an anti-Romney message, while 94% of Romney’s ads were attacking President Obama.

And these ads are just as negative as they are costly:

Absence of morality. Three Chicago teens decided to beat up a defenseless older man for fun and killed him. Bankers loot the country.

The new California open primary is, as expected, producing some unusual, tumultuous races. In the newly- drawn 30^th Congressional District, the race is between two incumbent Democrats, Howard Berman and Brad Sherman. Because this is a new seat, only one can win. In the California open primary, the top two vote getters regardless of party face each other in the general election.