The Church of Scientology has a huge footprint in Los Angeles. 

The religion, which made headlines in recent weeks via HBO's "Going Clear" documentary, owned a "real-estate empire of 26 properties" worth as much as $400 million in the city as of 2011, according to the Hollywood Reporter. 

While some critics say Scientology maintains a large real-estate portfolio to create the impressions that it is a larger organization than it really is, there is no question the church has an impressive physical presence in the LA area. 

Business Insider visited many of Scientology's properties in the city, including the church's famous "Celebrity Centre" and a museum dedicated to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

The hub of Scientology's presence in Los Angeles is the former Cedars of Lebanon hospital complex. This building, the Pacific Area Command Base (PAC Base) is topped by a massive sign with 16-foot-tall letters. It was purchased by the church in 1977. At the time, Scientology leaders said it would be their "central facility for the United States." Today, Scientology has its spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, but PAC base still houses dormitories and offices for the church.

Source, Source, Source

Uniformed Scientologists can often be seen coming in and out of the PAC base and working to maintain the building. They have shuttle buses that take them from the complex to the church's other facilities in the LA area.

There are also security guards who constantly patrol the complex. In our experience, they occasionally question and discourage people who attempt to photograph the facility.

Whether you're up-and-at-'em when day breaks or stumbling out of bed, the way you spend the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day.

That's why many leaders have crafted morning rituals that maximize their energy, productivity, and creativity all day long.

We asked a mix of high-profile CEOs, authors, investors, and entrepreneurs: What is your morning routine? Read on to find out what they said.

Kara Goldin, CEO of Hint Water, checks email immediately after waking up.

Goldin wakes up at 5:30 on the dot every morning and heads directly to her inbox, which gives her a clear understanding of what the rest of the day will be like.

After that, she embarks on a hike with her husband and dogs through the Marin hillside of California. While this may seem like a nonessential step in her morning routine, Goldin says it's absolutely crucial.

"Without my hike, I feel unbalanced," she says. "I need this time to clear my head, connect with what I love, and center myself so that I can handle any challenge that might come up in the day ahead."

Read more about Kara Goldin's morning routine here.

Gary Vaynerchuk, entrepreneur and investor, has a three-hour morning routine that gets him ready for the day.

Vaynerchuk, cofounder and CEO of VaynerMedia, plans his mornings down to the minute.

First thing, he catches up on the news: ESPN, Business Insider, and a news aggregator called Nuzzel.

Next, he communicates with his massive Twitter following: "I search my handle and try to find anything I might have missed from the night before, or even that morning, considering my European and Asian bases. I respond to as many people as possible."

The most unique aspect of his morning routine, however, occurs in the car on the way to the office: He calls his mother, father, or sister, depending on who he spoke with last.

"I catch up with them. Talk to them. Just learn what they’re up to," he says. "I really value those small moments."

Read more about Gary Vaynerchuk's morning routine here.

Scott Adams, the creator of 'Dilbert,' designed his morning routine to maximize his creativity.

The first 20 minutes of Adams' day are exactly the same, every day. Putting his physical body on autopilot "frees his brain for creativity."

Concentrating his creative hours in the morning makes sense for Adams. "My value is based on my best ideas in any given day, not the number of hours I work," he says.

In his home office, he enjoys a delicious combo of protein bar and coffee. "I give myself this 'treat' knowing I can be trained like any other animal," he says. "And I want to train myself to enjoy waking up and being productive. (It totally works.)"

Read more about Scott Adams' morning routine here.

Facebook has often been regarded as one of the best places to work in the tech industry.

Its interns make $25,000 more than the average citizen. And famously, employees on Glassdoor voted Facebook the No. 1 company to work for overall.

But in order to get a job there, you'll have to answer some tricky questions first.

We've compiled some of the toughest Facebook interview questions available on Glassdoor. Whether you're looking for a programming job or a position doing marketing, Facebook's interview questions will give you a run for your money.

"There is a building with 100 floors. You are given 2 identical eggs. How do you use 2 eggs to find the threshold floor, where the egg will definitely break from any floor above floor N, including floor N itself." - Data Scientist candidate

"If you were going to redesign an ATM machine, how would you do it?" - Product Designer candidate

"How many birthday posts occur on Facebook on a given day?" - Data Scientist candidate

Greece maybe tumbling towards a messy default on its debt, and it may even have to exit the eurozone. But it will do so in style, thanks to Yanis Varoufakis. 

The Greek finance minister has taken Europe's economic institutions by storm, found his way onto the front page of every newspaper and (reportedly) into the hearts of plenty of German women. 

And he's barely been in politics for four months.

Whether you're in awe or loathe him, there's no avoiding Yanis Varoufakis.

Before he got into politics, Varoufakis was an academic, and spent some time as chief economist of video game company Valve.

Varoufakis only announced he would run for election in January 2015, less than three weeks before the government actually came into power.

A few days after the election Varoufakis had an incredibly awkward back-and-forth with Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem, setting the frosty diplomatic tone.

After more than 20 years, Gisele Bündchen has retired from the runway.

The world's highest-paid supermodel, the 34-year-old walked in her final show at Brazil's São Paulo Fashion Week.

Known in the industry as simply "Gisele," Bündchen has been the highest-paid supermodel for the past eight years.

She earned a stunning $47 million in 2014, according to Forbes. That's way ahead of second highest-paid model Doutzen Kroes, who raked in $8 million.

But before she was a one-woman empire, Gisele was an awkward teenager with modest aspirations in Brazil. 

We chronicled how she broke into the scene and became a legend. 

Gisele was born in Brazil, but her parents are of German descent. Here she's pictured (center) with her fraternal twin, Patricia, and another sister, Gabi.

Source: Instagram 

Gisele was discovered by a modeling scout in Brazil while she was eating a Big Mac. Her childhood nickname was "Olive Oyl," a reference to cartoon "Popeye's" gangly wife. She won a contest and was sent to Sao Paulo. Here she's pictured in a 1995 interview telling the station about how she hoped to break into the business.

Source: YouTube 

At age 16, she appeared on the cover of a Brazilian teen magazine with the headline "Gisele Bundchen, 16 years old, has gone to the top."

Source: SCStyleCaster

The market for environmentally friendly cars is getting bigger. With hybrid, hydrogen, electric, and diesel powertrains all available, looking for a "green car" is now more confusing than ever. So the editors at Kelley Blue Book assembled a list of the 10 best green cars to make it easier. 

According to KBB, the list is more than just a compilation of the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Each of the cars offers its own appealing mix of efficiency, practicality, and price.

"The list of 'green' vehicle standouts continues to blossom, and with strict Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements coming down the pipeline, auto manufacturers are making stronger advancements each year in creating more environmentally friendly vehicles," KBB's executive editorial director and executive market analyst, Jack R. Nerad, said.

10. Volkswagen Jetta TDI: 36 combined MPG.

9. Ford C-Max Hybrid: 40 combined MPG.

8. Toyota Camry Hybrid: 41 combined MPG.

Gerhard Andlinger, an Austrian-American businessman and the founder of private investment firm Andlinger & Company, is the buyer of rockstar Jon Bon Jovi's downtown Manhattan penthouse, according to the Real Deal.

The home was last listed for $37.5 million, though it first appeared on the market in 2013 for $42 million.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Home foreclosures plunged in the first quarter.

According to RealtyTrac, 313,487 US homes were foreclosed on during the first quarter. That’s the lowest quarterly total since the first quarter of 2007, a 7% decline from the previous quarter, and an 8% drop from the same quarter last year.

"Some of most stubborn foreclosure cases are finally being flushed out of the foreclosure pipeline, and we would expect to see more noise in the numbers over the next few months as national foreclosure activity makes its way back to more stable patterns by the end of this year,” RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist said in the data release.

Still, some states are struggling.

We drew on RealtyTrac’s report to highlight the 15 states with the highest foreclosure rates last quarter.

Note: The states are ranked by foreclosure rate, i.e., one in every 'X' homes received a foreclosure filing.

Georgia

One in every 466 homes received a foreclosure filing in Q1 2015.

Properties with foreclosure filings: 8,787

Change from Q4 2014: -19.21%

Change from Q1 2014: -25.22%

Source: RealtyTrac

Pennsylvania

One in every 462 homes received a foreclosure filing in Q1 2015.

Properties with foreclosure filings: 12,037

Change from Q4 2014: -12.14%

Change from Q1 2014: -6.63%

Source: RealtyTrac

Oregon

One in every 446 homes received a foreclosure filing in Q1 2015.

Properties with foreclosure filings: 3,759

Change from Q4 2014: 8.58%*

Change from Q1 2014: -60.99%

Source: RealtyTrac

*Actual increase may be lower because of improvements in data collection

Spend on digital ads worldwide is forecast to rise 15.7% to $17.1 billion this year, according to media agency Carat's forecasts.

But how many did you remember? And how many of them encouraged you to buy a product, change your behavior, or have a different opinion about a brand?

Click here to skip straight to the campaigns>>

US trade body, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, asked a panel of marketing experts to take a closer look into the most successful online ad campaigns of 2014, dishing out "MIXX" awards to those which really captivated their audiences and drove business results for brands. Gold-winning brands included Coke, Chipotle, Nike, and some other lesser-known companies from across the globe.

While the ads succeeded for different reasons, a common theme tying them together was interactivity, and campaigns that sought to tackle huge issues, not just push product.

Chipotle — "The Scarecrow"

To help raise awareness of its sustainability commitments, Chipotle and its ad agency Creative Artists Agency created this stunning, poignant 3-minute animated film about a scarecrow that escapes an oppressive, "1984"-esque food regime to seek out a fresh product. It's all set to the theme tune of "Pure Imagination" (made famous by the 1970s movie "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.)

The video acted as a companion for an app-based game, which offered users free food in exchange for helping the scarecrow character on his mission.

Why it worked

Chipotle's "Scarecrow" was awarded "Best in Show" for "branding beyond the campaign."

The video was watched on YouTube more than 5 million times in its first week and has now racked up more than 14 million views. The mobile game was downloaded some 650,000 times. And the entire campaign was said to have sparked 18.4 million conversations across 17 social platforms.

Why so successful? MIXX Awards judge and global chief creative officer at R/GA Nick Law said: "[It] combines the best of Hollywood and the gaming industry. An intriguing story and a compelling game experience, which are both beautifully crafted with a rare sensitivity for their respective mediums, deliver the brand's powerful message with equal weight."

Inkadate Village — "Rice-Code"

Inkadate, a small village in north-east Japan, has long-depended on rice as its main source of income. But Japanese people are consuming less rice each year and action needed to be taken.

Working with Japanese advertising agency Hakuhodo, Inkadate's farmers began growing extremely detailed works of art in their fields using different colors of rice.

An app called "Rice Code" let visitors scan the fields like a QR code to buy the rice, and people could also make purchases through rice art in posters, and via Facebook photos.

The headphones that come with your iPhone look pretty basic.

But there are a lot of cool things you can do with them if you know the right tricks.

Every iPhone comes with headphones, or "ear buds" like this:

If you press the center button once you’ll play a song from your music app or music streaming apps.

Press it one more time to pause the song.

Over the course of our lives, we only get a few thousand weekends. The most successful people know better than to squander them by laying around or scrubbing the floors.

In her book, "What The Most Successful People Do On The Weekend," time management expert Laura Vanderkam outlines how to make the most of this sacred time off from your harried workweeks.

She outlines how you can take control of your weekends by planning ahead, being selective with your time, and finally indulging what you love most.

This is an update of an article written by Carolyn Cutrone.

The first step to controlling your weekends is making conscious choices.

It's so easy to plop down on the couch on a Friday night or Saturday morning and watch TV, but falling into these routines will suck away the few free hours you have. Instead of doing something by default, choose to decide how your time is spent. 

Vanderkam writes, "In a world of constant connectivity, even loafing time must be consciously chosen, because time will be filled with something whether it's consciously chosen or not — and not choosing means that the something that fills our hours will be less fulfilling than the something our remembering selves will likely wish we'd elected to do."

Make appointments for yourself, even if it's only to read a book.

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee says you need to have a plan for the weekend, setting specific hours or minutes aside for activities you want to do.Then you have to commit. 

Huckabee advises: "If you know you want to read a book, then get the book out and have it set aside and make plans to read it. Say it's going to be at 1. When that starts, get on it. Don't wait until that afternoon, then think — could I read? Or listen to some music? Or take a walk? Then you'll sit about wasting an hour of what little time you have figuring out what to do with the rest of it."

You have to be disciplined and commit to the decisions you make. 

Planning actually makes weekends happier, and unlocks a key mechanism of joy.

Vanderkam cites Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert's 2006 book, "Stumbling on Happiness." In it, Gilbert argues that "the greatest achievement of the human brain is its ability to imagine objects and episodes that do not exist in the realm of the real." 

Gilbert is talking about anticipation. Anticipation accounts for a huge chunk of happiness, which comes from thinking about the events we plan. Vanderkam writes, "As you look forward to something good that is about to happen, you experience some of the same joy you would in the moment. The major difference is that the joy can last much longer."

It's Equal Pay Day, which represents how far into the year women have to work to earn the equivalent of men's wages from the previous year — nearly three and a half extra months.

While women still lag behind men in most jobs, there are a few where they come out ahead, according to recent data released by the US Census Bureau, which compares men and women's annual full-time wages across 342 professions.

However, these findings may not be something to celebrate, says Payscale data scientist Katie Bardaro: "In a lot of ways it paints a more negative picture for women, because even in these jobs where women are paid more, the difference is so small."

1. Producers and directors

Women earn: $66,226/year

Men earn: $62,386/year

Earnings ratio: 106.15%

Source: US Census Bureau

2. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment

Women earn: $66,226/year

Men earn: $62,386/year

Earnings ratio: 106.15%

Source: US Census Bureau

3. Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products

Women earn: $42,990/year

Men earn: $41,619/year

Earnings ratio: 103.29%

Source: US Census Bureau

Good news for anyone who doesn't want to spend their days in a cubicle, behind a computer screen, or chained to their desk all day: Some of the highest-paying careers in America are non-desk jobs.

A new analysis of labor market data provided by Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. (EMSI), CareerBuilder's labor market data arm that pulls from more than 90 government and private resources, found that 90% of these jobs are medical professions that require a doctoral or professional degree — but there are tons of great options for those without a college diploma.

"The US workforce has gradually shifted to office-based work due to the rise of the professional services economy and productivity gains associated with information technology," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder, in a press statement. "But some of the healthiest areas of job growth year-after-year are in middle-skill occupations that don't require workers to sit in front of computer monitors and phones for 40 hours a week."

Aaron Taube contributed to an earlier version of this article.

30. Orthotists and Prosthetists

Median hourly pay: $30.27

BLS job description: Design, measure, fit, and adapt orthopedic braces, appliances or prostheses, such as limbs or facial parts for patients with disabling conditions.

29. Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers

Median hourly pay: $30.85

BLS job description: Install or repair cables or wires used in electrical power or distribution systems. 

28. Chiropractors

Median hourly pay: $31.40

BLS job description: Assess, treat, and care for patients by manipulation of spine and musculoskeletal system. 

Some homes are built out of spite. Others are left standing as a form of protest.

In China, "nail houses"— homes that remain standing despite pressure from real estate developers to sell — have become increasingly common.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This hidden subplot of 'Game of Thrones' spells out the real trouble for the Lannisters

Founding a company is one thing ... keeping control of it is another.

Sometimes founders can be forced out if the board decides to do so. (That's one reason why founders have become fond of dual shares and other such protections).

Or, sometimes, founders force themself out, if they get so embattled they resign.

Apple’s Steve Jobs: “Getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.”

Steve Jobs was fired from Apple at the age of 30, just 10 years after he started it in his parents’ garage. Although he returned as Apple CEO in the late 90s, Jobs said the whole experience was “devastating” at the time, and he even thought about "running away from the Valley."

But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, he said during his Stanford commencement speech:

“I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

During his time away from Apple, Jobs created two other companies, NeXT and Pixar, and became a family man. He explained:

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it.

Twitter's Noah Glass: “I realized the story’s not about me. That’s okay.”

Noah Glass is one of Twitter’s cofounders no one knows about. He was pushed out of the company back in 2006, but is still credited for coming up with the name Twitter.

In a 2011 interview with Business Insider, Glass shared what it feels like to be erased from Twitter history:

“I was not in the story, which in some ways was difficult to deal with in the beginning, since it was a massive labor of love and a massive labor to get it created."

But Glass seems fine with not getting enough credit, because at the end of the day, it's all about the product:

Twitter is a phenomenon and a massively beneficial tool and it's incredibly useful and it helps a lot of people. I realized the story's not about me. That's okay.

Zynga's Mark Pincus: “I do not give myself very high marks as a CEO of a large-scale company.”

Zynga cofounder Mark Pincus recently reclaimed his CEO position at the online gaming company he created in 2007. It was a big moment for PIncus because he had stepped down from all operational roles at Zynga in 2014, after resigning from the CEO position a year earlier.

But up until last year, Pincus didn’t really give himself a good grade as CEO, as he admitted during an interview with Kara Swisher:

“I think I give myself high marks being an entrepreneur and entrepreneuring a big idea about how popular social gaming could be…But I learned a lot of hard lessons on the CEO front … and do not give myself very high marks as a CEO of a large-scale company.”

He also told Swisher, “I basically fired myself,” because the job at Zynga wasn’t something he was passionate about at the time.

“Managing more than 200 people, maybe 150 people, isn’t fun to me and is not my skill set,” he said.

As the great poet and musician Aubrey Drake Graham once sang, "It's not about who did it first, it's about who did it right." 

That's true: Like comedy, selling a product is all in the timing. Sometimes even the best ideas don't work out the first time, whether because the technology isn't ready or because the market isn't.

But those failures are a great opportunity for the next person, who gets to look at the mistakes of those who have gone before and figure out how how to make it work.

IBM Simon was 13 years before the Apple iPhone

Then: IBM Simon launched in 1994 at the considerable price of $1,100 ($900 if you got it on contract with BellSouth).

It was chunky and not exactly user-friendly, but it had a touch screen, could get e-mail, and be used as a fax modem. It was discontinued in February of 1995 after only six months and 50,000 units sold – the Simon could only get an hour of battery charge, which was as unimpressive then as it is now.

Now: Plenty of other manufacturers tried their own hands at making a smartphone, but the market didn't show its real potential until Apple introduced the first iPhone in 2007, which sold 6.1 million units in its first five quarters on the market. The first Android smartphone was introduced in October of 2008, and nowadays it's hard to remember a time before smartphones and the apps we run on them.

WebVan let users order groceries online 15 years before Amazon

Then: WebVan, an online grocery delivery website that started in 1998, is one of the first dot-com bubble's greatest horror stories, burning through $800 million in venture capital money before going totally bust in 2001.

Now: Amazon Fresh and startup Instacart both take advantage of the rise of smartphones and a public that's more willing to shop online for their own successful grocery delivery services. In fact, Amazon Fresh bought a lot of WebVan's intellectual property and team.

Sony Librié was the prologue to Amazon Kindle

Then: In 2004, Sony released the Librié 1000-EP, the world's first e-ink "electronic book," as The Register put it at the time.

Before that, all book readers were based on traditional screens — the kinds that hurt your eyes after too much reading. The Librié was powered by four AAA batteries, and books were available on a $2 "all you can read" subscription.

Now: The first version of the Amazon Kindle e-reader launched in 2007 and promptly sold out within five and a half hours. Amazon had cracked the code: The Kindle was smaller than the competition, made it a lot easier to buy books through the Amazon online bookstore, and perhaps most importantly, a totally free, totally unlimited cellular data plan that let users buy books (and consult Wikipedia) from anywhere in the world.

"Game of Thrones" goes to great lengths to bring George R.R. Martin's Westeros to life. 

Costume designers and hair stylists for the show draw inspiration from cultures from all over the world in order to capture this expansive and diverse world.

The cast members themselves are always willing to commit, whether they play a king, a queen, or a knight. Some wear lavish wigs while others chop their hair right off.

Many of the actors are barely recognizable in real life. If you passed by a few of them on the street, you probably wouldn't even know it.

In season five, Sansa Stark goes for a new, darker look as she tags along with Little Finger.

In real life, Turner dyes her hair for the show. When her character had red hair, they had to use a "mix of four different watercolor shades."

(Source: Fashionista)

Here's how Kit Harington looks as Jon Snow.

In the 1990s, sculptor Matt McMullen designed a mannequin to give clothing stores something more flexible and attractive than your standard mall dummy. 

McMullen, who was documenting his progress on his website, started getting emails from people who weren't looking to use the dolls as retail accessories, but in their personal lives, asking if they were “anatomically correct.”

At the time, they weren’t. But McMullen recognized a growing market of customers and adjusted his mannequins to fit his new customers’ desires. The RealDoll was born. 

Today, McMullen’s company, Abyss Creation (NSFW), sells around 400 dolls per year. They're often referred to as "sex dolls," although they are not always used for sex.

Photographer Benita Marcussen recently met with a number of doll owners to understand the strange obsession. She found that doll owners tend to be extremely protective of their dolls, treating them with respect reserved for lovers, friends or cherished possessions. 

Marcussen's work was recently featured by Vocativ, but she has shared a number of the photos with us here.

The community of “real doll” enthusiasts is large and growing. DollForum.com, a network connecting aspiring and active doll owners, has over 40,000 users. The users can share experiences and pictures of their dolls or buy and sell new and used dolls.

Source: Doll Forum (NSFW)

Everard, shown here, owns a total of eight bodies, plus four extra faces. He has collected dolls for years. Like many doll owners, he is meticulous about his plastic friends, dressing them up with clothes, accessories, and makeup, and often treating them like “goddesses” and lovers.

Everard likes to take Rebekka and June to his backyard for photo shoots. His neighbors tend to go inside when he brings the dolls out. He has had only one relationship with a real woman and says that he has difficulties understanding them.

Legendary hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones II just listed his stunning Florida Keys home for $14.5 million, Realtor.com reports. 

Earlier this month, the Palm Beach Daily News reported that Tudor Jones purchasedCasa Apava, a waterfront estate in Palm Beach, for a $71.2 million.

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The five young men of Team Liquid earn more than $60,000 each, plus tens of thousands through sponsorship and streaming deals, and live for free in an LA condo just for being good at League of Legends, the most popular competitive video game in the world.

Altogether the best of them are easily taking home six figures.

Despite a roster loaded with top players, it has been stuck around fourth place in North America. With the addition of a former world champion, however, hopes are high that the team will earn a shot at the World Championship's $1-million prize.

Being a professional gamer is a sweet gig, but it's not all fantasy. With high pressure and low job security, gamers play up to 14 hours a day to stay on top of their craft, all while devoting their formative years to skills that may have little marketable value later in life.

That's why Alex “Xpecial” Chu told his younger brother, a talented gamer in his own right, to stay out of pro-gaming. “I know how hard it is,” he says.

We visited the team in Santa Monica, California, to get a first-hand look.

Team Liquid lives in a duplex in Santa Monica. I arrived late in the morning to hang out with the team as they prepared for game day.

When I arrived around 12:30 p.m., most of the team was still asleep. As Team Liquid owner Steve Arhancet told me, "Gamers run on a different schedule than the rest of the world." Most of Team Liquid wakes up around 12 p.m. and many stay up playing the game until 3 a.m. or later.

The only people awake were Liquid coach Peter "PtotheD" Zhang (left) and Diego "Quas" Ruiz, a quiet 23-year-old from Maracaibo, Venezuela. Ruiz honed his skills at League by using the computers at an internet cafe run by his mother. He's in the US now on a professional sports visa.