Pressure increases on Netanyahu over judiciary plans | First Thing

Prime minister is due to address the nation after mass protests overnight. Plus, meet the hairdressers trained to talk about climate action

Good morning.

Israel's embattled prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is expected to address the nation about his far-right government's proposal to overhaul the judiciary, after a decision to sack his defence minister for opposing the plans sparked mass protests across the country overnight.

Why are people against the changes? Critics say they will give politicians too much power over the judiciary by allowing a simple majority in the Knesset to overrule almost all of the court's decisions, and give politicians a decisive say on appointments to the bench. It has also been pointed out the move could help Netanyahu evade prosecution in his corruption trial, in which he denies all charges.

What has Israel's president said? President Isaac Herzog, writing on Twitter in the early hours of Monday morning, said: For the sake of the unity of the people of Israel, for the sake of responsibility, I call on [Netanyahu] to stop the legislative process immediately."

Do we know anything about the victims? Stories are beginning to emerge. In Carroll county, fatalities included three members of the same family living in a mobile home park near the community of Summerfield. Danny Munford, 51, his wife, Helen Munford, 54, and their son JaDarrion Murphy, 14, died after winds picked up their mobile home and tore it apart, the local paper reports.