Headlines: Tourist Stabbing, Spy Scheme, Silver Line Workers and Drivers Ed Battery Charges

By Greg Hambrick

The excitement of a job with the Environmental Protection Agency apparently pales in comparison to a life as a faux spy saving captured agents in Pakistan or providing security detail for presidential candidates.

Retired EPA employee John C. Beale, 65, was sentenced to 32 months in prison Wednesday for defrauding the government out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of unearned compensation, according to multiple news reports. 

Since 2000, Beale missed more than two-and-a-half years of work by claiming he was working for the CIA on special missions.

Read about his supposed "exploits" and where he was really spending all that time, along with the rest of today's top stories in our daily digest below.

Arlington Man Sentenced for Defrauding EPA with Elaborate CIA Spy Scheme

'Holy Orders': Muth Maintains Fast, Murder Trial Continues

LCSO: Ashburn Driving Instructor Accused of Sexual Battery of Female Student

Watch This Christmas Tree Burn In 73 Seconds

Report: Silver Line Phase Two Includes Partial Project Labor Agreement

Police: Man Stabbed in Chest Near Ballston Metro

86th District Delegate Race: Boysko-Rust Recount Results

5 Questions With...The Owner of One of Herndon's Most Widely Loved Shops

Calling All Entrants for the 'Chocolate Challenge'

Lights at T.C. Williams: 'Times Have Changed'

New Burger Restaurant to Open in Annandale

New Math Center Opens in Burke

Residents Create Memorial for Man Who Died Near Burke VRE

Three Masked Men Hold Up Falls Church Hotel

Time Running Out To Earn 2013 Tax Deduction for College Savings

Paul VI Catholic High School Looks to Move Campus Out of Fairfax City

Westfield Band 'Smells Roses,' Prepares for Pasadena Parade 

Remembrance Ceremony Planned for Late Police Officer Chris Yung

Vienna Family 2013 Christmas Card? A Remix of Miley's 'We Can't Stop'

Arlandria Redevelopment Project Could Get Rolling in 2014

Restaurants Proving Part of Alexandria Waterfront 'Revolution'

What's Up With The Manassas National Battlefield Park?

Homicide Suspects: One Arrested, One Still At Large