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U.S. News has ranked 32 diets, and which one comes out on top?

The DASH Diet. It's an acronym for a dreadfully dull name, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet. Haven't heard of it?

True, it doesn't get much buzz.

But it's been around for a long time, and there's solid evidence that it works, not just for weight control but also to lower high blood pressure (a condition that affects 1 in 3 adults in the U.S.).

Unlike diets born of the buzz of best-selling authors, the DASH diet is based on peer-reviewed research studies that were sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health.

Here's the skinny: It's similar to the Mediterranean diet (which we've reported on a lot recently) in that it emphasizes a pattern of eating rich in fruit and vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts.

Another key component of DASH is to limit the intake of sodium as well as red meat (and other foods high in saturated fat), sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages.

The goal, according to the researchers, is to pack in the nutrient-dense foods that are rich in magnesium, potassium, calcium and fiber. As with so many of the findings on the Mediterranean diet, this pattern of eating is thought to limit inflammation and help the body fend off disease. Here's a guide to following the DASH Eating Plan.

Other top diets, according to the new rankings: Weight Watchers comes out on top for best weight-loss diets, as well as being ranked as the the top commercial diet plan. And this makes sense. As we've reported, everyone from millennials to baby boomers have found success with this points-based system.

As for the best plant-based diets, Mediterranean and Flexitarian take the top spots.

About midway down the Best Diets list, we find Nutrisystem, Flat Belly Diet and the Slim Fast diet, which the panel of experts convened by U.S. News concluded was a "reasonable approach to dieting."

Top diets that seem to have had their day in the sun include the South Beach Diet, which the reviewers conclude is tough to stick to. Yes, restricting carbs is a great way to shed pounds. But for many dieters, it's difficult to stick with in the long run.

And, despite all the buzz over the Paleo diet — including some doctors who have started to embrace it — it's not one that the folks at U.S. News & World Report cottoned to, as it landed at the bottom of the list.

"Experts took issue with the [Paleo] diet on every measure. Regardless of the goal — weight loss, heart health, or finding a diet that's easy to follow — most experts concluded that it would be better for dieters to look elsewhere," the rankers concluded.

Some people insist that Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts acknowledging her girlfriend of 10 years in a Facebook post isn't news at all.

Roberts reportedly was open in her personal life about her sexual orientation. And she has survived two high-profile cancer struggles with partner Amber Laign at her side; so a holiday message expressing gratitude for lots of things including "my longtime girlfriend Amber" seemed appropriate.

When GMA's former weatherman Sam Champion announced his engagement and marriage to partner Rubem Robierb in 2012, ABC News sent out a news release and a photo of the happy couple.

And celebrity revelations of same-sex relationships have moved from the covers of best-selling magazines to offhand comments in Facebook posts and lines buried deep in New York Times profiles (never mind that ABC News and first lady Michelle Obama both sent supportive messages as word spread of Roberts' post, ensuring further coverage).

But at a time when the A&E network essentially had to back down from its effort to punish Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson for giving an interview where he compared homosexuality to bestiality and promiscuity — suspending him and then reinstating him without really affecting the show's filming — it's obvious America remains at a crucial tipping point on this issue.

In the same way media always mirrors society, it has thrown up a reflection of this. Our fragmented media culture showcases one area, daytime talk, which has welcomed gay anchors and stars with open arms, while also offering an example of unrepentant homophobia from one of cable TV's most successful names.

It seems similar to the atmosphere of the mid-1960s, when laws upholding racial segregation and barring interracial marriage were struck down, even as opinion polls revealed Americans were hardly settled on these issues.

The 'Glass Closet'

Back in 1968, when the Supreme Court invalidated laws against interracial marriage, a Gallup poll indicated 72 percent of Americans disapproved of such unions. This year, Gallup found 87 percent of Americans approved of interracial marriages — 96 percent among black people — while a different poll from the company found 53 percent of Americans approved of gay marriage.

If anything, perhaps we've reached a point where the show business "glass closet" is collapsing.

The Duck Dynasty Drama

Monkey See

'Duck' And Cover: What, Exactly, Is The Point?

When the North American Free Trade Agreement was being negotiated, supporters promised it would increase the income of Mexicans. And the middle class did grow in Mexico over the past two decades. But it's clear that Mexico's ultrarich are among its big winners.

Mexico now claims the richest man in the world — richer than Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. He has six times the wealth of Mark Zuckerberg — but nowhere near the fame. He's Carlos Slim Helu, 73, and much of his wealth comes from his cellphone company, America Movil, the largest in Latin America. His reach also touches the U.S., where his investments include a piece of The New York Times.

The rest of Mexico's uber-rich are even less-known. They made their riches in mining, TV, Coca-Cola and beer.

Forbes magazine puts the number of Mexican billionaires at 15; others say there are many more. Dolia Estevez, a contributor to Forbes, says many of Mexico's billionaires are old — in their 70s and 80s — and keep a low profile.

"A lot of people avoid publicity, especially in a country like Mexico, where there are so [many] security problems," Estevez says.

But Estevez says there are a lot of newcomers to the billionaires' club, too. There were five in the past year, most attributing their wealth to FEMSA, the largest Coca-Cola distributor in the world and Latin America's largest convenience store chain.

Economist Luis de la Calle, who helped negotiate NAFTA for Mexico, says these billionaires have gotten wealthier in the past 20 years by what was not in NAFTA. The trade pact specifically excluded opening the telephone, television and transportation sectors. He says in hindsight, that was a mistake; NAFTA should have been more ambitious.

Parallels

NAFTA Opened Continent For Some Canadian Companies

After striking a deal with federal prosecutors, JPMorgan Chase has a agreed to pay $1.7 billion to the victims of Bernard Madoff's multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.

The bank will be criminally charged with two violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and will admit to the violations. But under the agreement, the bank will receive a deferred prosecution.

The U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York said the payment is the "largest ever bank forfeiture and largest ever [Department of Justice] penalty for a Bank Secrecy Act violation."

The deal is still subject to court approval.

Madoff, if you remember, was sentenced to 150 years behind bars back in 2009. He was found guilty of stealing about $13 billion from hundreds of investors.

As The New York Times notes, this settlement is "emblematic of a broader problem among giant global banks: ignoring the warning signs of fraud."

This case follows a $1.9 billion money laundering settlement with HSBC and it is the latest payout from Chase to the U.S. government.

The Times reports that before this settlement, JPMorgan Chase had already agreed to pay $13 billion to "the Justice Department and other authorities over its sale of questionable mortgage securities in the lead up to the financial crisis."