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ByJuliePace The Associated Press CAMPDAVID,MD. President Barack Obama pledged America's "ironclad com- mitment" to anxious Per- sian Gulf nations Thursday to help protect their secu- rity, pointedly mentioning the potential use of military force and offering strong as- surances that an interna- tional nuclear agreement with Iran would not leave them more vulnerable. Obama promised that the U.S. would join with Gulf Cooperation Council nations "to deter and con- front an external threat to any GCC state's territorial integrity." Speaking at the close of a summit with Gulf leaders at the presidential retreat at Camp David, he expressed hope that the region would achieve "the kind of peace and good neighborliness with Iran that I think so many of the countries here seek." A written annex accom- panying a joint statement from the leaders laid out what Obama meant when he promised "our ironclad commitment to the security of our Gulf partners." "The United States pol- icy to use all elements of power to secure our core interests in the Gulf re- gion, and to deter and confront external aggres- sion against our allies and partners, as we did in the Gulf War, is unequivocal," it said. While the U.S. has long provided military support to partners in the Gulf, the statement pledged new co- operation on counterter- rorism, maritime security, cybersecurity and ballis- tic missile defense, among other things. Obama's separate nego- tiations in recent months to curb Iran's nuclear pro- gram in exchange for sanc- tions relief have strained re- lations with many of Amer- ica's traditional partners in the region. Gulf states fear that if Iran gets an influx of money when sanctions are lifted, it will embolden what they see as Tehran's aggression in the region. Obama, at his summit- closing news conference, said that while the Gulf leaders hadn't been asked to "sign on the bottom line" to approve the work- in-progress nuclear deal, they did agree "that a com- prehensive, verifiable solu- tion that fully addresses the regional and international concerns about Iran's nu- clear program, is in the se- curity interests of the in- ternational community, in- cluding our GCC partners." Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir called Thurs- day a productive day. He said the Arab leaders were "assured that the objective is to deny Iran the ability to obtain a nuclear weapon" and that all pathways to such a weapon would be cut off. He added that it was too early to know if a final nu- clear agreement would be acceptable, saying, "We don't know if the Iranians will accept the terms they need to accept." As the leaders gathered, an Iranian naval patrol boat fired on a Singapore-flagged commercial ship in the Per- sian Gulf. A U.S. official said it was an apparent attempt to disable the ship over a fi- nancial dispute involving damage to an Iranian oil platform. The incident took place a bit south of the island of Abu Musa just inside the Gulf, according to the U.S. official, who was not au- thorized to discuss details by name. The White House said no Americans were in- volved in the incident. Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said that while the incident did not come up in Thursday's discussions, it was "exactly the type of challenge" the Gulf nations are focused on. Al-Jubeir, for his part, said, "The Iranians should not be allowed to get away with it. ... For whatever rea- son they're doing it, it's got to stop." Obama rarely uses Camp David for personal or offi- cial business. White House aides hoped the more inti- mate setting would lead to a more candid conversation with the Arab allies. Just two other heads of state — the emirs of Qa- tar and Kuwait — joined Obama at Camp David. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bah- rain all sent lower-level but still influential representa- tives. ARAB SUMMIT ObamaoffersGulfnations 'i ro nc la d' s ec ur it y co op er at io n PABLOMARTINEZMONSIVAIS—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS President Barack Obama sits with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, le center, Secretary of State John Kerry, right center, and other Gulf Cooperation Council leaders and delegations at Camp David, Md., on Thursday. JIM COLE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, right, talks with New Hampshire State Rep. Bob Backus, le , and former State Sen. Peter Burling before a private meeting with New Hampshire Democrats on Wednesday in Concord, N.H. By Ken Thomas The Associated Press WASHINGTON Former Maryland Gov. Mar- tin O'Malley plans to an- nounce his decision on a presidential campaign May 30 in Baltimore, pre- paring for what would be a longshot bid for the Demo- cratic nomination. O'Malley would enter the 2016 race as a rela- tively unknown figure na- tionally and face a steep test against front-runner Hillary Clinton. O'Malley, an ex-Balti- more mayor who has vis- ited early-voting states, has tried to present him- self as a champion of pro- gressive causes and a fresh face for liberals hesitant to support Clinton. O'Malley was holding a Thursday night confer- ence call with top support- ers to provide an update and discuss plans for the announcement. His plans were described by an aide who was not authorized to publicly discuss inter- nal planning and spoke on condition of anonymity. "My timeline for a while has been by the end of May and that remains my timeline. So stay tuned," O'Malley told reporters Wednesday in New Hamp- shire, home of the nation's first presidential primary. O'Malley's announcement date was first reported by The Washington Post. O'Malley's record as city leader a decade ago has faced scrutiny since riot- ing broke out following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. O'Malley, mayor from 1999 until he was elected governor in 2006, has defended his work to curb violent crime in Baltimore and signaled it would play a leading role in a presidential cam- paign. O'Malley frequently talks about his record in Maryland: supporting gay marriage and gun control, ending the death penalty, providing in-state college tuition for immigrants liv- ing in the U.S. illegally. He has outlined a potential 2016 that would focus on economic inequality, im- migration, campaign fi- nance reform and national security. Will Martin O'Malley run for president? Find out on May 30 POLITICS By Denise Lavoie The Associated Press BOSTON Jurors in the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev must make one of the most difficult decisions a jury can be faced with: Should they sentence him to death or spare his life? As they deliberate, they will need to fill out a lengthy, complicated ver- dict form that asks them to make findings on 12 aggra- vating factors prosecutors say support a death sen- tence and 21 mitigating fac- tors his lawyers say support a decision to instead sen- tence him to life in prison. The jury began deliberat- ing late Wednesday and con- tinued all day Thursday, for a total of about 8 hours over two days. It's scheduled to return to U.S. District Court on Friday to continue. The jurors must weigh any mitigating factors they find against any aggravat- ing factors to determine Tsarnaev's sentence. The jury convicted Tsar- naev last month of all 30 federal charges against him, including 17 that carry the possibility of the death penalty. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when two pressure cooker bombs packed with shrapnel exploded near the marathon finish line on April 15, 2013. A Massachu- setts Institute of Technol- ogy police officer was killed days later. The verdict form, which is 24 pages long, is like a worksheet for the jury. It walks jurors through a pro- cess before they get to the decision on whether Tsar- naev is sentenced to death or life in prison. First, the jurors must de- cide whether any "gateway," or threshold, factors exist, including whether Tsar- naev intentionally killed the victim or victims; in- flicted serious bodily injury that resulted in death; par- ticipated in an act contem- plating that the life of a per- son would be taken; or en- gaged in an act of violence knowing that it created a grave risk of death so that it constitutes reckless disre- gard for human life. Then, they must begin deciding on the various mitigating and aggravat- ing factors. BOSTON TRIAL Marathon bombing jury finishes fir st f ul l da y of d el ib er at io ns STEVEN SENNE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Protesters hold placards outside federal court as they demonstrate against the death penalty, on Thursday in Boston. By Matthew Daly The Associated Press WASHINGTON The Depart- ment of Veterans Affairs is improperly spending at least $5 billion a year for medical care and supplies being purchased in viola- tion of required practices for competitive bidding and written contracts, a senior VA official said Thursday. "Gross mismanagement" by senior agency leaders has wasted billions of dollars and made a "mockery" of federal laws regarding pur- chasing of goods and ser- vices, said Jan Frye, deputy assistant secretary for ac- quisition and logistics. Illegal purchases have been made for pharma- ceutical drugs and medi- cal supplies, putting vet- erans at risk and exposing the agency to widespread "fraud, waste and abuse," Frye said. "I can state without res- ervation that VA has and continues to waste millions of dollars by paying exces- sive prices for goods and services due to breaches of federal laws," Frye told the House Veterans Affairs sub- committee on oversight and investigations. In one example cited by Frye, about $1.2 billion in prosthetics were bought using purchase cards with- out contracts during an 18-month period that ended last year. In all, VA has understated its annual acquisition totals by at least $5 billion in each of the past five years, "due to our inexcusable failure to acquire a substantial quan- tity of goods and services in accordance with federal laws and regulations," Frye said. VETERANS Official: VA wastes $5 billion a year Thiscouldbeyourluckyday by helping a dog or cat find a loving home from... Ad Sponsorship $ 25 Call Suzy 737-5056 RedBluffDailyNews ELI Paws & Claws TEHAMACOUNTYANIMAL SHELTER 1830 Walnut Street P.O. 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