Attacks on ICE Agents Surge, CA Eyes Wildfire Land Grab, Harvard Teases Conservative Center: 7/18/25

Violent attacks on ICE officers reach unprecedented levels. Harvard considers establishing a Center for Conservative Scholarship after more than 300 years. Chinese hackers may have direct access to DoD data due to Microsoft's careless outsourcing. And are California politicians really going for a massive land grab after the LA wildfires? We'll get into all that and your quick hits right now. What's up guys, welcome to The Wrap-Up where we break down the biggest stories of the week that you might have missed but need to know. I'm your host, Heika. A new report shows ICE officers are being assaulted at a drastically higher rate than last year and experts say the mainstream media's rhetoric could be the reason. The Department of Homeland Security highlighted there was a staggering 830% increase in violence against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers when compared to the same period of time from last year. DHS Assistant Secretary Trisha McLaughlin said, quote, It is reprehensible that our officers are facing this threat while simply doing their jobs and enforcing the law. The DHS stated that much of the blame should be placed on mainstream media's coverage of ICE's actions, saying, quote, Lies and hysterical rhetoric are directly contributing to a massive surge in attacks. This spike in violence was on full display during a recent ICE raid at a cannabis factory in Ventura County, California, where officers were assaulted by protesters with one suspect appearing to fire a gun at the agents. Despite the violence, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem stated that ICE was able to apprehend over 300 unlawful immigrants and, quote, Rescue 14 children from potential forced labor, exploitation and trafficking. Videos show the protesters hurling bricks and rocks at the ICE agents' vehicles as they left the factory. President Donald Trump encouraged the officers and during the attacks, posting on True Social, quote, I am giving total authorization for ICE to protect itself, just like they protect the public. Authorization immediately granted for arrests and incarceration. In response to the White House administration's decision to pull or freeze a significant portion of its federal funding due to the school's handling of antisemitism on campus, Harvard leaders are reportedly considering the establishment of a Center for Conservative Scholarship, potentially inspired by Stanford's Hoover Institution. While the idea has been discussed for a number of years, it seems to have only recently gained traction. A 2023 study from the student newspaper revealed that only 3% of Harvard staff identified as conservative. Pro-Palestinian protests in 2024 highlighted Harvard's allowance of antisemitism and their selective censoring on campus. PragerU personality Chavez Kestenbaum experienced firsthand how Harvard failed to address antisemitic incidents throughout the student body and ended up filing a civil rights lawsuit against the university. We've had Jewish students being told by their professors to leave the class because their Israeli nationality made others uncomfortable. We've had a Jewish student being spat on. Another was told, Heil Hitler. A staff member challenged me to debate him as to whether Jews orchestrated 9-11. If this was any other minority group, the left would be demanding that we withhold their funds. But and it's mired up in free speech when it has nothing to do with free speech and it has everything to do with action. While Harvard is in the middle of a lawsuit with the current administration over the removal of federal funds, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said at a cabinet meeting, quote, we're negotiating hard. I think we're getting close to having it happen. It's not wrapped up as fast as I wanted it to, but we're getting there. The nation's most sensitive data may be vulnerable to Chinese hackers, according to a recent report which revealed that Microsoft is employing engineers in China to maintain Department of Defense computer systems with minimal supervision. An investigation by ProPublica revealed that to prevent malicious activities, the current system employs U.S. workers with security clearances designated as digital escorts who act as a firewall by supervising Chinese engineers. However, ProPublica found that these escorts often lack the technical skills needed to effectively monitor to foreign workers who possess far greater coding expertise. Some escorts are former military personnel with limited software engineering experience earning barely above the minimum wage. While Microsoft claims to have disclosed details of this escort model to the government, former U.S. officials interviewed denied any knowledge of the arrangement. Microsoft's digital escort program may be a way for the company to use its global workforce while still competing for Pentagon contracts, giving the appearance of meeting the Defense Department's requirement that only U.S. citizens, nationals or permanent residents manage its most sensitive data. Microsoft claims that monitoring safeguards exist, but insiders warn that the knowledge gap between engineers and escorts is too wide to manage risks effectively. Staffing firms like Insight Global typically look for candidates with security clearances rather than coding skills. One escort described it as quote, trusting that what they're doing isn't malicious without truly knowing. Six months after devastating wildfires destroyed over 50,000 acres of Los Angeles, it seems as though California's elected officials are pushing for control instead of compassion. A recent op-ed from Red State unveiled that the Golden State's recent Senate Bill 549 empowers a new state agency to purchase wildfire affected land in L.A. County, overriding local governments. The author of the article, Steve Williams, argues, quote, Sacramento arrived with a blueprint for a land grab, not a recovery plan. The bill formally titled the Second Neighborhood Infill Finance and Transit Improvements Act Resilient Rebuilding Authority for the Los Angeles Wildfires is, according to Williams, not the community-centered relief it claims to be. With broad authority to acquire fire-damaged land, even without local approval, the bill, passed in May 2025, creates a Resilient Rebuilding Authority. This authority is tasked with redeveloping such land for high-density housing and transit projects. And while the state makes a push for control, many residents have taken issue with how the government has handled the recovery. Despite L.A. Mayor Karen Bass calling the recovery the fastest recovery in state history, many locals remain unconvinced. Comedian posted a video on X This Week with the caption reading, over six months after the fire and zero work. No trucks, no crews, no materials. And now it's time for Quick Hits. Insiders revealed that Apple is now investing $500 million in MP materials aligning with White House administration's initiative for U.S. mineral independence. The agreement also includes new recycling and magnet facilities, as well as a commitment to buy American-made rare earth materials. President Trump recently announced plans of hosting a UFC event on the White House lawn, and UFC CEO Dana White has now confirmed it. Francine Villa, who fled the U.S. for Russia back in 2019 in order to avoid, quote, racism, and was featured in a Russian propaganda film highlighting how much safer she felt, was recently beaten up by a group of her racist neighbors. John MacArthur, the renowned and beloved preacher, pastor, author, and theologian, passed away on Monday evening at the age of 86 following a recent hospitalization for pneumonia. The main stage at Belgium's Tomorrowland music festival site suffered severe damage from a massive fire on Wednesday, just two days before the event's opening. The Emmy nominations were announced on Tuesday with Apple TV Plus series Severance receiving 27 nominations. HBO Max series The Penguin received 24 nominations, followed by White Lotus with 23. That's a wrap for this week. Thank you so much for watching. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and comment down below what you thought about these stories, and we'll see you next time on The Wrap-Up. Thank you so much for watching this video. In order to keep PragerU videos free, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today.