The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) delivered good news for America’s troops Friday, confirming that the one-time $1,776 “Warrior Dividend” paid to service members in December 2025 is completely tax-free, allowing troops to keep every dollar of the bonus.

In a Friday release, the Treasury Department and the IRS said that “supplemental basic allowance for housing payments” made to members of the uniformed services in December 2025 “are not to be included in income by those who received the payments; they are not taxable.”

The agency said federal tax law specifically excludes from gross income a “qualified military benefit,” adding that basic allowances for housing payments fall under that category and therefore are not subject to federal income taxes.

The confirmation caps off President Donald Trump’s pre-Christmas announcement that nearly 1.5 million U.S. service members would receive a special “Warrior Dividend” in recognition of their service and to commemorate roughly 250 years since the nation’s founding.

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“And the checks are already on the way,” Trump said during a Dec. 17, 2025, primetime address from the White House, crediting tariffs and recently passed GOP spending and tax legislation for funding the payments. 

“Nobody deserves it more than our military. And I say congratulations to everybody,” he added.

According to the IRS, Congress appropriated $2.9 billion in legislation enacted last July to supplement the basic allowance for housing payable to members of the uniformed services, with the one-time $1,776 payments funded by that appropriation.

The IRS said the supplemental payments were made primarily to active-duty service members in pay grades O-6 and below, along with eligible Reserve Component members as of Nov. 30, 2025, across the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Space Force.

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Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson welcomed the tax treatment in remarks carried by Pentagon News, saying the ruling ensures the money reaches military families directly.

“The tax-free Warrior Dividend places $1,776 directly in the hands of our warfighters and their families,” Wilson said. “The department is proud to recognize their sacrifice.”

During his December address, Trump also pointed to what he described as a turnaround for the armed forces under his leadership, citing record enlistment and contrasting it with what he called historically poor recruitment numbers under the previous administration.

“What a difference a year makes,” Trump said.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the dividend reflects a broader push to improve quality of life for military families.

“This Warrior Dividend serves as yet another example of how the War Department is working to improve the quality of life for our military personnel and their families,” Hegseth said. “All elements of what we’re doing are to rebuild our military. 

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The Department of War and the Internal Revenue Service did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for additional comment. 

Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this reporting.

Southern California Edison sued Los Angeles County, water agencies and two companies including SoCalGas on Friday, saying their mistakes contributed to the deadly and destructive toll of last year’s Eaton wildfire.

Edison now faces hundreds of lawsuits by victims of the fire, which claim its transmission line started the devastating fire that killed at least 19 people and destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena. The cost of settling those lawsuits could be many billions of dollars.

Doug Dixon, an attorney who represents Edison in the fire litigation, told The Times that Edison filed the lawsuits “to ensure that all those who bear responsibility are at the table in this legal process.”

The utility’s two legal filings in L.A. County Superior Court paint a picture of sweeping mismanagement of the emergency response on the night of the fire.

Edison blames the county fire department, sheriff’s department and office of emergency management for their failure to warn Altadena residents west of Lake Avenue to evacuate.

The Times revealed last January that west Altadena never received evacuation warnings, and orders to evacuate came hours after flames and smoke threatened the community. All but one of the 19 who died in the Eaton fire were found in west Altadena.

Edison also sued L.A. County for failing to send fire trucks to the community. A Times investigation found that during a critical moment in the fire, only one county fire truck was west of Lake Avenue.

The electric company also filed suit against six water agencies, including Pasadena Water & Power, claiming there were insufficient water supplies available for firefighters.

“Compounding the unfolding disaster, the water systems servicing the areas impacted by the Eaton Fire failed as the fire spread, leaving firefighters and residents with no water to fight the fire,” the lawsuit states.

Another lawsuit aims at SoCalGas. Edison says the company failed to turn off gas lines after the fire started, making the disaster worse.

“SoCalGas did not begin widespread shutoffs for four days — until January 11, 2025 — in the area affected by the Eaton Fire,” the complaint states. “In the meantime, the Eaton Fire continued to spread fueled by natural gas.”

“The risks and deficiencies with SoCalGas’s system that led to it spreading the fire were long known to SoCalGas, and yet it nevertheless failed to adequately account for them in designing, building, and maintaining its system,” the complaint said. “The result was catastrophic.”

Edison also sued Genasys, a company that provides the county with emergency alert software.

In addition, the utility sued the county for failing to remove brush, which it claims made the fire hotter and spread faster, causing more damage.

An L.A. County spokesperson said Friday that the county had no comment on the lawsuit.

Chris Gilbride, a spokesperson for SoCalGas, said the company would review the complaint and respond in court.

“Since Jan. 7, 2025, SoCalGas has worked diligently, in close coordination with local and state officials, to assess the impacts of the fires on SoCalGas’ infrastructure, make necessary repairs, and safely restore service to thousands of customers,” Gilbride said.

Lisa Derderian, a spokesperson for the City of Pasadena, said court evidence shows Edison’s equipment caused the fire.

“Today’s cross complaint does not change that fact and Edison should accept responsibility for the extensive damage it has caused,” she said. “Pasadena continues to prioritize safe rebuilding and recovery.”

Officials from the water agencies and Genasys could not be immediately reached.

In March, L.A. County filed suit against Edison, claiming that its transmission line sparked the blaze, requiring the county to incur tens of millions of dollars responding to the fire and its aftermath. The county is seeking compensation for destroyed infrastructure and parks, as well as for cleanup and recovery efforts, lost taxes and overtime for county workers.

Edison’s new cross claims will be heard in the consolidated Eaton fire case in Superior Court, which is also handling the lawsuit that the county and other public agencies have filed against the electric utility.

The water agencies that Edison sued also include the Sierra Madre City Water Department, Kinneloa Irrigation District, Rubio Canyon Land & Water Assn., Las Flores Water Company and Lincoln Avenue Water Company.

The government investigation into the fire, which is being handled jointly by L.A. County Fire and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, has not yet been released.

Edison has said that a leading theory is that its unused, century-old transmission line in Eaton Canyon somehow became re-energized on the night of Jan. 7, 2025, and sparked the blaze.

The fire roared through Altadena, burning 14,021 acres and destroying more than 9,400 homes and other structures.

President Donald Trump on Friday said there wasn’t a reason, in the present, to invoke the Insurrection Act, as agitators continue to clash with federal immigration authorities carrying out enforcement operations in Minneapolis. 

Trump was departing the White House when he was asked about the 1807 law, which he threatened to invoke earlier this week. 

“I believe it was Bush, the elder Bush, he used it, I think 28 times,” Trump told reporters. “It’s been used a lot. And if I needed it, I’d use it. I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it. It’s, very powerful.”

The law allows the president to deploy the military to suppress rebellions and enforce federal laws. It would grant Trump the authority to federalize the National Guard and deploy active duty forces to restore order. It would temporarily override the Posse Comitatus Act, which normally restricts the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. 

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The law reportedly hasn’t been invoked since the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which began after four police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King.

Despite Trump’s threat, some Republicans are resistant to the idea of using the centuries-old law. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., seemed to downplay Trump’s threat, placing his hope in local law enforcement’s ability to “settle things down.”

“Hopefully the local officials working with not only the federal law enforcement, ICE and other agencies, but also the local law enforcement officials will be able to settle things down,” Thune told reporters.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., cast doubt on whether it would be appropriate to invoke the act, according to The Hill.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ala., also expressed her concerns about the move, saying that the administration needs to be “very careful,” The Hill reported.

In a Truth Social post on Friday, Trump said “Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists” that have been seen violently confronting federal officers are “highly paid professionals” in many cases.

“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control,” he wrote. “If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY! President DJT.”

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the offices of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. 

Trump has accused Walz, Frey and other local leaders of inflaming tensions and has blamed dangerous rhetoric for the doxxing and violence directed at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. 

On Thursday, he threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if the violence continued in Minnesota. 

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“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.