[Allen:] More fallout from the Grenfell Tower tragedy in London. Hundreds of families have been moved to temporary shelters. They're out of their homes for the next month or so because the cladding on their buildings in North London is flammable.
[Howell:] The siding on the Grenfell Tower contributed to last week's fire, a fire that killed 79 people. Safety checks are underway at apartment buildings across the United Kingdom. Local London officials say Grenfell has changed everything.
[Unidentified Female:] I realize it's disruptive to people's lives but it's particular safety comes first. If it's not safe, then people need to go. What we found that while the insulation was safe, the external cladding was not up to the standards that we wanted. It was not fire retardant. Obviously, this was very disappointing. We shared that news with our residents and, on Thursday night, we had a public meeting with local residents, where they shared a number of concerns about fire safety that I hadn't been aware of.
[Howell:] No doubt, there are a lot of big questions. The big question, how far could this go? I spoke earlier with Kuldeep Virdi. He's a professor emeritus of structural engineering at City University of London and I asked him how this happened in the first place.
[Kuldeep Virdi, City University:] The authorities have made a risk assessment and they decided that the fire services could not cope with a fire of this magnitude. Therefore, they've decided to evacuate many of the buildings.
[Howell:] Kuldeep Virdi, so on the side here, we're seeing these images inside the Grenfell Tower following this fire. If we could take these images full because I want to talk about the gladding that was on the exterior. I want you to tell us about this cladding. What is the process to remove it? How difficult is it to go back to buildings, to identify which buildings are affected and then strip them of this cladding?
[Virdi:] I think the decision as to which buildings to be stripped of the cladding is straightforward because we would know what materials were used in those buildings and if it was the case that the material was flammable, then you decide to remove the cladding. The question whether it's easy to remove or not, I think it's not very difficult because these panels are not very heavy, made of aluminum and some polymer materials. So handling them is not too difficult. Of course, when the cladding is at, say 20 stories high floor, then you have to take care that the persons removing the cladding are also safe. So there has to be consideration of safety of people removing the cladding. But as for the weight of the cladding, elements are concerned, it's not too heavy. Should not be too difficult.
[Howell:] We hear this from officials. They say that Grenfell changed everything. In this case, we're talking about a particular set of buildings. But with regard to the scope and scale of this problem, look, could we be talking about hospitals? Could hotels be concerned about the cladding on their structures? How common is this type of cladding? And how far could it go?
[Virdi:] My understanding is that this type of cladding was used for all the buildings where they decided to do two things: one, to improve the appearance of the building and, second, to improve the thermal insulation. So the aluminum on the outside is there for appearance and the insulation there is to improve the performance of the buildings, retaining heat, et cetera. So from an energy point of view, this would have been a good product. But, unfortunately, it's turned out that another aspect of this is whether the material is flammable or not. And I think we have seen the case that the material was flammable. It is not the case that all cladding systems have
[Howell:] Obviously, the fire in London has drawn attention to this type of paneling, this cladding. Now the question, you know, certainly in the United Kingdom but what other countries, what other buildings around the world could be affected by this? Kuldeep Virdi, thank you so much. Thank you for your time.
[Virdi:] You're welcome.
[Howell:] I want to tell you now about a development on a story that stunned the United States and certainly around the world and led to a national debate on race relations, the fatal shooting of an African American teenager, Michael Brown, by a police officer.
[Allen:] We now know Brown's family will receive $1.5 million after reaching a settlement in a lawsuit against the city of Ferguson, Missouri. Ferguson became a flashpoint for unrest across the U.S. after the shooting in 2014. That anger was exasperated [sic] when a grand jury cleared police officer Darren Wilson, who had shot Brown.
[Howell:] Now to another police-involved shooting in the United States. An Ohio judge has declared a mistrial in the case against former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing.
[Allen:] Tensing was charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter after shooting Samuel DuBose during a July 2015 traffic stop. His bodycam caught the entire incident. Tensing testified that he feared for his life after his left arm became trapped inside DuBose'moving car.
[Howell:] This is the second time a jury has deadlocked considering this particular shooting and Tensing is the third U.S. law enforcement officer to be tried for shooting an African American in the last week. None of them were convicted.
[Allen:] Ahead here, the joke that was no laughing matter for the White House. Actor Johnny Depp apologizing for a controversial visual comment about President Trump.