Larissa Gao

4 weeks ago | nbcnews.com | Mithil Aggarwal |Peter Guo |Larissa Gao

May 29, 2025, 9:32 AM EDTHONG KONG — The sky was apparently not the limit for a Chinese paraglider who climbed to a near record-breaking altitude of more than 28,000 feet Wednesday. The only problem? He hadn't even intended to fly. In what acrophobes — those with a fear of heights — could only imagine in their worst nightmares, 55-year-old Peng Yujian was just conducting a routine equipment test in the northern province of Gansu when a powerful updraft lifted him off the ground.

1 month ago | nbcnews.com | Rebecca Cohen |Larissa Gao |Jay Blackman |Erik Ortiz

May 26, 2025, 2:20 PM EDTA Southwest Airlines plane flying into Denver, Colorado, on Sunday was struck by lightning upon its descent as storms plagued the area over Memorial Day weekend. Southwest flight 168 was approaching Denver International Airport Sunday evening from Tampa when it was hit by a lightning strike, the media team for the airport said in a statement. Emergency crews responded to the plane, which landed and made it to the gate safely, the airport said. No injuries were reported.

Feb 26, 2025 | nbcnews.com | Patrick Smith |Larissa Gao

A Minnesota woman has been charged with the murder of her husband in the southern African nation of Angola last year while the couple and their five children were there on a Christian missionary trip, their church has confirmed. Beau Shroyer, 44, from Detroit Lakes, was found dead in a vehicle in Thienjo, a town in southern Angola, in October. His wife, Jackie Shroyer, was arrested in connection with the death in November and is accused of forming a murder-for-hire plot.

Jan 18, 2025 | nbcnews.com | Mithil Aggarwal |Jennifer Jett |Larissa Gao |Janis Mackey Frayer

HONG KONG — For most people in the U.S. and China, what they hear about each other’s countries comes mostly from their governments and the media. Now they are learning directly from each other, at least for now. The excitement is palpable on the Chinese social media platform RedNote, or Xiaohongshu (“Little Red Book”) as it’s known in Chinese, after a wave of American users set up accounts in recent days.

Oct 22, 2024 | nbcnews.com | Larissa Gao

Oct. 22, 2024, 1:47 PM UTCIt all started with a kiss. K-pop star Seunghan was banished for almost a year from his boy band, RIIZE, amid backlash over leaked photos showing him kissing a womanwhen he was a trainee — behavior considered unacceptable by some fans who expect their idols to remain single and have wholesome images.