DALLAS — Vice President Mike Pence delivered a hybrid of a campaign speech and a sermon Wednesday before thousands of representatives of the Southern Baptist Convention, boasting about the Trump administration’s actions on everything from North Korea negotiations to tax cuts in his speech to the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

Pence, who is an evangelical Christian himself and generally popular in this conservative evangelical denomination, spoke in the language of the campaign trail but also in the language of a sermon.

“Today on behalf of the president, I want to say thank you. Thank you to the Southern Baptist Convention for the essential and irreplaceable role you play in America,” he said. “I’ll make you a promise: This president, this vice president and our administration will always stand with you.”

Some attendees at the Baptists’ annual meeting had protested in advance that Pence should not have been invited; several delegates made motions that were denied or delayed Tuesday that Pence’s time slot should be filled instead with prayer or that all politicians should be barred from addressing the annual meeting.

While many applauded as Pence spoke, others sat silently. Key leaders in the denomination complained afterward that he had focused too much on partisan politics.

Pence drew the most sustained ovations when he mentioned the Trump administration’s action of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and when he called Trump “the most pro-life president in American history.”

Wildfires destroy Utah homes, prompt Colorado evacuations

DENVER — A fast-moving brush fire destroyed eight homes in the Utah tourist town of Moab, while more than 3,000 people in Colorado and Wyoming fled multiple wildfires scorching the drought-stricken West on Wednesday.

The blaze in Moab, known for its dramatic red rocks, started in a wooded area Tuesday night and quickly spread to nearby homes, Police Chief Jim Winder said.

He said the early investigation has ruled out natural causes for the blaze.

In southwest Colorado, residents have evacuated more than 1,300 residences.

Meanwhile, a wildfire in Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest doubled in size over 24 hours, burning about 8 square miles. Nearly 400 seasonal and permanent homes have been evacuated because of the fire near the Colorado border.

U.K. government defeats pro-EU lawmakers on Brexit

LONDON — British lawmakers rejected proposals by pro-European Union politicians Wednesday that were intended to lock the U.K. into the bloc’s customs union and single market after Brexit.

The results were a victory for Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative government, which is determined to take the country out of the EU next year.

The House of Commons voted by a wide margin against a call to join the European Economic Area — a club that includes the EU nations and Norway — after Conservative and opposition Labour leaderships opposed it.

Lawmakers also rejected keeping the U.K. in a customs union with the EU, although leaving could mean tariffs for British goods in Europe.

Court rules no privacy for cellphone with 1-2-3-4 passcode

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A man serving 18 years in prison in South Carolina for burglary was rightfully convicted in part because he left his cellphone at the crime scene and a detective guessed his passcode as 1-2-3-4 instead of getting a warrant, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

Lawyers for Lamar Brown argued detectives in Charleston violated Brown’s right to privacy by searching his phone without a warrant.

After storing the cellphone in an evidence locker for six days, the detective found a contact named “grandma” and was able to work his way back to Brown.

The justices ruled in a 4-1 decision that Brown made no effort to find his phone. The law allows police to search abandoned property without a court-issued warrant.

Ex-Senate aide’s lawyers to ask judge for muzzle

WASHINGTON — Lawyers for a former Senate staffer accused of lying to the FBI during a leaks investigation say they plan to ask a judge to bar President Donald Trump and other federal government officials from making “improper and prejudicial” statements about the case.

James Wolfe, 57, pleaded not guilty in federal court Wednesday to charges of making false statements.

Wolfe, the former director of security for the Senate intelligence committee, was arrested last week. Though he’s not accused of disclosing classified information, prosecutors say he lied to FBI agents about contacts he had with journalists who covered committee matters.

His lawyers said in a statement that Wolfe never disclosed anything classified and that the case raises First Amendment and media freedom issues they will address in court.

White House defends deal with ZTE to buy U.S. parts

WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday defended President Donald Trump's decision to allow Chinese telecom giant ZTE to resume buying component parts from the U.S.

Lawmakers of both parties have expressed outrage over the Trump administration's decision to make a deal relaxing penalties imposed on ZTE for violating U.S. sanctions against exporting to Iran and North Korea.

A bipartisan effort in the Senate is working to advance legislation re-imposing the penalties.

The deal announced last week with China allows ZTE Corp. to stay in business in exchange for paying a $1 billion penalty.

In a statement, the White House pointed to “massive penalties” imposed on ZTE as part of what it described as a “historic enforcement action.”

Dennis Hof, owner of a half-dozen legal brothels in Nevada and star of the HBO adult reality series “Cathouse,” won a Republican primary for the state Legislature on Tuesday, ousting a three-term lawmaker, hospital executive James Oscarson. Hof is favored over Democrat Lesia Romanov in the Republican-leaning district.

Larry Kudlow, top White House economic adviser, was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, and his recovery from a heart attack is going very well, the White House said. Kudlow was admitted Monday to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after what officials said was a very mild heart attack.