Astronauts break U.S. flight record

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., June 12 (UPI) -- As the shuttle Endeavour crew on Wednesday prepared for a final spacewalk and the end of their stay aboard the International Space Station, returning U.S. astronauts Dan Bursch and Carl Walz, who have been aboard the outpost since Dec. 7, broke the U.S. spaceflight endurance record, which was set by Shannon Lucid in 1996 with a 188-day mission aboard the Russian station Mir.