Wet Seal Brutally Lays Off 3,700 People, and More Headlines for Thursday

1) US casual apparel retailer Wet Seal is closing 338 stores and laying off about 3,700 employees. Companies go out of business, it happens. But this one didn't do it with much class: employees were not only given no warning, but told not to look for jobs, they say. When they started receiving little inventory, they were told the stores were to be renovated. With no explanation, employees received boxes for a "store project:" to pack up iPads, credit card machines and other equipment. And other classy moves.

2) In a much better show of humanity, people around the world held vigils in support of France and freedom of speech, after a terrorist attack at satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo left 12 dead. As of this writing, one suspect has surrendered to police, while a manhunt continued for two assaillants. The hashtag #JeSuisCharlie ("I am Charlie") spread across social media and across languages. From us to you, thank you.

3) Sounds like the FCC may have heard you on net neutrality. Chairman Tom Wheeler hinted at CES he was leaning toward reclassifying broadband Internet service as a public utility, just like mobile service. A formal decision is slated for February 26.

4) The FBI says there's little doubt Sony was attacked by North Korean hackers. Sloppy ones. They apparently did not hide behind proxy servers but instead sent messages directly from North Korean IP adresses. The FBI offered little bits of evidence to skeptics.

5) America's shale oil boom has drastically cut the country's dependence on foreign crude. This much we knew. We maybe didn't realize by how much. America's oil import bill has fallen to $23 billion, with a real oil trade deficit – the country is still not self-sufficient – at its lowest by far since the start of records, in 1994. You can dig into the numbers here.

6) Google is losing ground as America's favorite search engine, while Yahoo is inching up. Google still runs 3 out of 4 searches, but that's down from nearly 80% last year. Yahoo now runs about 1 in 10.

7) Samsung had a rough year. Operating profit and revenue fell almost 40 percent in the last quarter, compared to 2013, the company predicts. That's the fifth straight quarter of profit decline for the Korean smartphone maker.

8) If you're a bartender, chances are you are indeed married to the job, and no one else. Here are the professions where you're most likely to be married – or divorced.

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