LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Latest on Vice-President Mike Pence’s visits to Louisiana and Kentucky:

___

8:20 p.m.

Vice-President Mike Pence has made a stop in Kentucky, speaking to employees at an equine feed company where Gov. Matt Bevin also appeared.

WKYT-TV reports Pence stopped at Hallway Feeds in Lexington on Friday on the eve of the Kentucky Derby. Pence campaigned earlier this year for Bevin in Lexington, supporting Bevin’s re-election race. The primary in May 21.

Pence was also expected to attend a gala in Frankfort.

The White House said earlier that Pence would meet with employees at the small business to talk about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade accord. Trade policies are a big issue for Kentucky’s business sector. The state’s renowned bourbon industry has been hit with retaliatory tariffs in some key markets as part of broader trade disputes.

___

2:50 p.m.

Speaking in front of the remains of an African American church in Louisiana torched by an arsonist, Vice-President Mike Pence says attacks on communities of faith have become “all too frequent.”

Pence was meeting with parishioners and pastors of the three churches that were burned in March and April. He spoke Friday at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas.

He praised the church members for their response to the blazes — particularly the forgiveness offered to the man accused of setting the blazes — and said their faith and courage has inspired the nation.

A local sheriff’s deputy’s 21-year-old son, Holden Matthews, has been charged with offences including arson in burnings. He has pleaded not guilty.

A crowdfunding campaign for the churches’ restoration has raised more than $2.1 million.