The Final Jeopardy question (4/24/2013) in the category “The U.S. Government” was:

Donna Shalala, Alberto Gonzales & Tom Vilsack have each served as the “Designated Survivor” skipping this event.

New champ Bill Hawkins won $17,400 yesterday, thanks to knowing the correct number of states in Mexico. Today he is up against these two contestants: Christina Rodriguez from Carterville, IL; and Andy Hermann from Los Angeles, CA.

Andy found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “All in the Family.” He was in the lead with $5,000, $3,800 more than Bill and Christina who were tied for second place. He bet $3,000 and he was RIGHT.

The father of “You’re So Vain” singer Carly co-founded this publishing company. show

WHAT IS SIMON & SCHUSTER?

Andy finished in the lead with $10,400. Christina was second with $2,400 and Bill was last with $2,200.

Andy found the first Double Jeopardy Daily Double in “Not by Shakespeare.” He had the lead with $12,000 now, $5,400 more than Bill in second place. He bet $3,000 and thought it was Henry VIII. That was WRONG.

After III, the only King Henry with no Shakespeare title is him, the subject of a 2007 Sean Cunningham biography. show

WHO IS HENRY THE VII?

Andy found the last Daily Double in “What Are You Waiting For?” He was in the lead with $15,400, $7,200 more than Bill in second place. He bet $2,000, and he was RIGHT.

1993’s Handgun Violence Prevention Act, named for him, called for a 5-day waiting period in a handgun purchase. show

WHO IS JAMES BRADY?

Andy finished in the lead with a runaway $23,800. Bill was next with $8,600 and Christina was in third place with $2,000.

ALL of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS?

The “designated survivor” for the President’s State of the Union speech is “a role that has become a tradition, and a duty, that dates back to at least the Cold War. This person is a Cabinet Member selected to miss the State of the Union address (or any other joint session of Congress) and tasked with running the Federal Government should disaster strike the Federal officials gathered at the Capitol.

To be eligible as a designated survivor, the secretary must meet the same Constitutional requirements as the President: be a natural born citizen who is at least 35 years old and has resided in the U.S. for at least 14 years. These are very different than being appointed to the President’s Cabinet, which is briefly mentioned in the Constitution and does not hold any specific requirements. This may leave some secretaries ineligible to serve as President, and therefore as designated survivor, such as former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martinez, who emigrated from Cuba as a teenager.” (State of the Union: The Unheralded Absent Cabinet Secretary)

Christina bet $1,500. She finished with $3,500.

Bill bet $4,500 and finished with $13,100.

Andy bet $3,200 so he won the game with $27,000 and, once again, we have a new Jeopardy! champ.