((George Bell, 7-foot-8 Norfolk sheriff’s deputy is being recognized Thursday by Guinness World Records as the Tallest Man in the United States. That makes him 2 inches taller than the tallest NBA player, Yao Ming, but too short to be the world’s tallest living man. He stands below, according to Guinness, Ukraine’s 8-foot-5.5 Leonid Stadnyk and China’s Bao Xi Shun, who is 7 feet 8.95 inches.