The top-notch January 10 crossword

[Thomps2525]

As a child, Janice Luttrell developed a love of wordplay and crossword puzzles by watching her father solve the Chicago Tribune Sunday crosswords. Her puzzles have been appearing in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and other newspapers since April 2016. Sadly, her father didn't live to see her published puzzles -- he died when she was 18. Luttrell's crossword today includes these theme answers:

Toaster snack - POPTART
Pretty darn simple: IDIOTPROOF
Dice roller's exhortation: COMETOPAPA
Actor with near-synonymous first and last names: RIPTORN
Verses by Allen Ginsberg, e.g.: BEATPOETRY

"Cause trouble...and a hint to this puzzle's circled letters: is STIRTHEPOT. Each theme answer includes a different "stirring" of the letters P, O and T. "Stir the pot" means "to cause unrest or dissent; to agitate a situation in order to cause a reaction or trouble." But, as any cook or chef knows, we do not stir the pot. Rather, we stir the contents of the pot. When making a pot of soup, a cook may have to stir it if some of the ingredients have settled to the bottom of the pot. Thus, "stirring the pot" is a metaphor for bringing controversial issues to the surface. i.e., making people aware of negative things which might have been forgotten.

Actor/producer/director/voiceover artist Rip Torn was born Elmore Rual Torn Jr. in 1931 in Texas. Many of the men in his family have been nicknamed Rip. Among his best-known films are King Of Kings, RoboCop 3, Men In Black and The Man Who Fell To Earth. For six years he co-starred on HBO's The Larry Sanders Show.

"Señorita's 'other'" is OTRA, which is not used in English. "Upper, in Ulm" is OBER, which is not used in English. "Evangelist __ Semple McPherson" is AIMEE. Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944) was a Canadian-born preacher and faith-healer who in 1923 founded Angelus Temple in Los Angeles. She preached daily and her beliefs led to a new denomination, with Angelus Temple becoming the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. In 1924, she launched her own radio station, KFSG ("Four Square Gospel"). She also published weekly newsletters and a monthly magazine. In 1926, she disappeared for five weeks. Did she drown? Was she kidnapped? Was she having an affair with one of her engineers? Was it all just a publicity stunt? In 1927, all the criminal charges against her were thrown out due to a lack of evidence. To this day, no one really knows the truth. Here are details of the mystery:

The mysterious disappearance of a celebrity preacher

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30148022

The church and the denomination are still thriving. The former KFSG is now Spanish adult contemporary KXOL.

The puzzle also includes CHEERIO, clued with "'Toodle-oo!'" And with that, I say goodbye for now.