Judge tosses Flamin’ Hot lawsuit

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the man who says he invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

Richard Montañez had sued Frito-Lay and its parent company PepsiCo last year, alleging they defamed him and hurt his career by denying his role in creating the popular snack.

Federal Judge John W. Holcomb of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles wrote in his ruling last week that Montañez’s accusations of fraud and defamation were insufficient or lacked “factual support.”

But Montañez will have the opportunity to amend his lawsuit because “he may be able to cure the deficiencies in his pleading by alleging additional facts,” the judge wrote. Montañez will have until June 13 to submit an amended complaint.

The story goes that Montañez was working as a janitor at Frito-Lay’s Rancho Cucamonga plant when he dreamed up a version of the Cheeto that would appeal to the Latino community and had the gumption to pitch his idea to an executive.

FAA wants probe of SpaceX flight

The Federal Aviation Administration is demanding an accident investigation into last week’s out-of-control Starship flight by SpaceX.

The test flight from Texas lasted longer than the previous two failed demos of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, which ended in flames over the Atlantic. The latest spacecraft made it halfway around the world to the Indian Ocean, but not before going into a spin and breaking apart.

The FAA will oversee SpaceX’s investigation, which is required before another Starship can launch.

CEO Elon Musk said he wants to pick up the pace of Starship test flights, with the ultimate goal of launching them to Mars. NASA needs Starship as the means of landing astronauts on the moon in the next few years.

— Boston Herald Wire Services