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Bidding on the home of hostess extraordinaireBecca Cason Thrash and energy executive John Thrash will open May 18. The property is listed for $19.5 million, though interested buyers can bid whatever they want at auction.

MORE ON THE HOSTESS: A few of Becca Cason Thrash's favorite things

The couple is selling the property because they have a home in Paris and spend most of their time overseas, said Jay Monroe, the real estate agent who listed the property with Martha TurnerSotheby's International Realty.

The 18,113 square-foot home, sitting on 3.62 acres, is at 306 Longwoods Lane. The Memorial area home was built as a mid-century brick house in 1965. It has since been renovated into a "contemporary architectural triumph," according to theSotheby's listing. It combines Eastern and Western inspiration, and the house has a reverence for the designs of architects I.M. Pei, Frank Lloyd Wright and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

"It's almost 20,000 square feet, but you don't know it," Becca Cason Thrash said in a video shared with the listing. "It's nestled back in this very green property. And you see this sort of very minimal gray structure and gray granite gravel, and everything is really, really restrained. And then when you walk in, it just gets bigger and it unfolds. And it gets bigger and bigger. And you're just flabbergasted over the actual enormity of it."

The home has been a staple for lavish gatherings. Among the soirees were those thrown for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama and George Clooney (the evening Clooney visited, one guest fell in the pool!).

The property flooded during Hurricane Harvey, with Becca Cason Thrash evacuated by boat as she stayed behind trying to save photos and artwork. They lived in the Four Seasons for nearly two years as the house was renovated.

Becca Cason Thrash was co-founder of the PaperCity Magazine. She's a Houston Chronicle Best Dressed Hall of Famer. John Thrash is CEO of energy companyeCORP International.

Amber Elliott contributed to this report.

andrea.leinfelder@houstonchronicle.com

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Houston socialites' $19.5M party house that's hosted Obama ... - Houston Chronicle

Back in November 2022, Michelle Obama shared that she avoided wearing braids during her husband's presidency due to racism. "It would have been, 'Remember when she wore braids? Those are terrorist braids. Those are revolutionary braids.' So let me keep my hair straight, let's get health care passed," Obama said in front of a crowd during her book tour. But since the former first lady left the White House, she has explored several braided hairstyles. Her most recent look? Goddess box braids styled into a high ponytail.

Obama sat down with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss her book, The Light We Carry. She wore a black top and pants with silver jewelry. Her goddess box braids were on the small side with the textured braids finessed into a high ponytail and a few plaits wrapped around the base of the ponytail. The curly ends of the braids cascaded toward her mid-back and her lightly swooped baby hairs added a finishing touch to the protective style.

Obama's hair looked great, but our eyes kept darting to her bright tangerine tips. And her nails, which appeared to have an almond shape and be on the longer side. It was the only bright color present in this entire ensemble.

Goddess box braids have been having a huge moment lately. We've spotted them on several celebrities recently, including Marsai Martin, Gabrielle Union, Janelle Monae, and even Obama in the past. We have a good feeling the braided style has become one of Obama's favorites, seeing as she's worn them several times before. We're almost positive this won't be the last we see the style on her. And, honestly, we are here for it.

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Michelle Obamas Braided Protective Style Has a Curly Twist See Photos - Allure

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IrelandUruguay, Eastern Republic ofUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuela, Bolivarian Republic ofViet Nam, Socialist Republic ofWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZambia, Republic ofZimbabwe

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Star Parker: Tim Scott will fill in places where Obama failed - Daily Reflector

For Vanessa Crdenas, executive director of Americas Voice, an immigrant advocacy group, what we have seen from Biden lately has been really, really disappointing. Biden came to the White House after campaigning on one of the most, if not the most, progressive immigration platforms that we have seen, Crdenas said. She told me in an interview that many of her fellow immigration advocates describe that time as thrilling. I think he wants to be a transformational president when it comes to this issue because he cares about his legacy, Crdenas told me.

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But it has been quite frustrating that Biden has reneged on his promise to restore asylum at the border, Crdenas said Monday. Biden was such a defender of asylum and so eloquently spoke about why [Trumps former anti-asylum policies] were against our values and who we are.

Two years and change into his presidency, Biden has not been transformational on immigration. For one, it appears that who we are is a nation that balks at international asylum obligations, with some Senate Democrats claiming some of Bidens current policies ongoing restrictions at the border to limit arrivals in light of a surge in migrant flows to the United States violate US law.

As an advocate who has worked on these issues for a couple of decades, I really wanted more, said Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, another immigrant advocacy nonprofit, Its half good and half concerning. Murray pointed to family detention, and a focus on deterrence and enforcement at the border, as part of the concerns. It was shocking because [those policies] have never been successful, she said.

It seems like Biden has used a two steps forward, one step back type of approach to immigration policy. In terms of successes, both Crdenas and Murray pointed to the massive expansion of humanitarian parole programs to help Afghan evacuees, Ukrainians, and, most recently, Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. According to the New York Times, as of mid-April, roughly 300,000 Ukrainians had come to the United States and, by the end of 2023, some 360,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans are expected to be authorized to move here in what the Times called a new back door on immigration that Biden opened.

Indeed, this administration has led an impressive scaling up of humanitarian parole, an underrated discretional tool from the federal government. On one level, its a testament to our governments capacity to be creative. On another, according to Crdenas, its consistent with research that shows Americans support for a compassionate immigration system. Americans are stepping up and saying, yes, we want to sponsor folks; yes, we want to help people; yes, we want to help them integrate. And thats reflected in surveys, said Murray. Last month 79 percent of Evangelicals said they want humane and orderly opportunities for folks that are fleeing violence and other factors, she said.

Biden will reportedly name Julie Chvez Rodrguez, the daughter of late labor leader Cesar Chavez, as his campaign manager, which is regarded by Latino and immigrant advocates as a great move. Will Biden try a Hail Mary like Obama did in 2012? The political landscape probably wont allow it. We were divided then, but this is divided, Murray said, referring to current polarization levels. If Biden does something, it would be something pragmatic, not sweeping, such as expanding TPS, the temporary protected status extended to certain nationals of countries in distress, Crdenas said.

If Biden moves forward with a plan or executive order, it may help his 2024 reelection bid, but it will be greeted by the Republican reflex reaction of fear and loathing. Thats what makes common-sense immigration reform so difficult: In a country of immigrants, newcomers are treated like political pawns.

Marcela Garca is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at marcela.garcia@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @marcela_elisa and on Instagram @marcela_elisa.

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The implications of Biden's lackluster record on immigration for his ... - The Boston Globe

Barack and Michelle Obama return to White House for portrait unveiling

More than five years after Barack and Michelle Obama left the White House, the couple returned for the unveiling of their official portraits.

Ariana Triggs, USA TODAY

An April 12 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a screenshot of a tweet and several photos of a passport belonging to a man named Barack Obama.

"Many of us already knew and have been saying that hes an ILLEGITIMATE president…. Well heres his brother dropping some Proofs!" the post reads.

The post was shared 20 times in six days. A similar claim was made in an April 12 Instagram post that was liked more than 1,000 times in three days before being taken down after the social media user was contacted by USA TODAY.

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The passport shown in this post belongs to Barack Obama Sr., the former presidents father. President Obama was born in Hawaii.

The photos in the social media post originated inApril 11 and April 12 tweets by Malik Obama, the half-brother of Barack Obama.

But he never claimed the photos showed the passport of the former president.His posts indicated he wanted the former president to keep the passport in his presidential library.

Malik Obama did not respond to requests for comment from USA TODAY, but he told Reuters the passport belonged to their father.

Its my fathers passport, Malik Obama told Reuters via email.

The photos in Malik Obamas tweets include several pieces of identifying information that show the passport belonged toBarack Obama Sr. Among the clearest indicators is that the man pictured in the April 12 tweet appears to be the elder Obama, pictured on the cover of a biography,and not the 44th president.

The passport also shows it was issued in 1959 in Kenya, which was a British colony at the time, and lists June 18, 1934, as the birthday of its bearer. President Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961.

Fact check: Claim Obama is moving to Kenya started as April Fools' Day joke

The passports bearer was born in Alego, Nyanza Province, of Kenya.

USA TODAY has previously debunked the claimthat Obama was born in Kenya, noting that the White House released both a standard birth certificate and the long-form version of the document that demonstrated he was born in Hawaii.

When the younger Obama became the first sitting American president to visit Kenya in 2015, he commented on the importance of visiting and appreciating his familys history.

I traveled to Alego, the village where my family was from, he said. I saw the graves of my father and my grandfather. And I learned things about their lives that I could have never learned through books.

USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram and Facebook users who shared the claim for comment.

The Associated Press and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

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Fact check: Photos show passport belonging to President Obama's father - USA TODAY