US News & World Report on Wednesday released its annual ranking of the best colleges in the nation, and it includes several accolades for the Air Force Academy — especially its engineering programs. The academy’s undergraduate engineering program tied for fifth place with the Naval Academy in Annapolis (and behind West Point, which tied for third). Its aerospace, aeronautical and astronautical engineering program ranked second, behind Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Its electrical, electronic and communications engineering program tied for fourth, and its mechanical engineering program tied for fifth, in both cases with Harvey Mudd College in California. The academy, located in Colorado…