Average babysitting rates in the U.S. rose nearly 5% last year, hitting $26.24 per hour for one child, Alex Fitzpatrick reports from new UrbanSitter data.

• 💸 Parents are paying nearly $30/hour on average for two kids, the sitter-finding platform says.

Rates tend to be higher in places with steeper costs of living.

• 🌉 San Francisco ($29.63/hour for 1 kid) and Seattle ($27.70/hour) have some of the highest rates.

See the report.

Fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal is sweeping Europe — while in the U.S., many powerful people have skated, Axios' Avery Lotz reports.

🇬🇧 U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications and chief of staff departed amid a firestorm over Peter Mandelson, who was dismissed as U.K. ambassador to the U.S. due to his Epstein links.

• Starmer is now fighting for his political life, despite never having met Epstein himself.
• British police are also assessing claims that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew) emailed confidential trade visit reports to Epstein.

🇳🇴 In Norway, a former prime minister is under investigation, an ambassador resigned and the crown princess has apologized for her friendship with Epstein.

🏛️ In Washington today, Ghislaine Maxwell declined to answer questions during a closed-door, virtual deposition with the House Oversight Committee as part of its probe into Epstein, Axios' Kate Santaliz reports.

• Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) told reporters afterward: "Unfortunately, she had an opportunity today to answer questions that every American has — questions that would be very important in this investigation — and she chose to invoke her Fifth Amendment."

Maxwell was sentenced to prison in 2022 after a federal jury found her guilty of helping Epstein traffic teenage girls.

• She has denied abusing anyone and says she was scapegoated after Epstein died in prison in 2019. Prosecutors denied that.

🔍 What's next: Members of Congress can access millions of uncensored Epstein records starting today.

• Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), on X: "We will not rest until the Epstein class is brought to justice."

Go deeper.

1. 🦅 🐎 Budweiser's "American Icons" Super Bowl commercial, tied to America's 250th anniversary, won USA Today's annual Ad Meter contest — a record-setting 10th win for the brand. Anheuser-Busch says "Free Bird" was the first and only choice for the soundtrack. Watch the ad.
2. 🏠 Tenant advocates in Minnesota are warning of mass evictions as fear of ICE keeps many immigrants home from their jobs, Axios Twin Cities' Kyle Stokes reports. Go deeper.
3. 🎒 At least seven private schools in New York City, including three on Manhattan's Upper East Side, will charge over $70,000 for tuition next school year — "an amount exceeding that of many elite colleges" — due to soaring expenses, including teacher salaries, Bloomberg reports. (Gift link.)

The Super Bowl and Winter Olympics are just the start of an incredible few months for sports fans.

• A few highlights ahead, via Yahoo Sports' Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy:

🏀 Feb. 15: NBA All-Star Game

🏁 Feb. 15: Daytona 500

⚾️️ March 5–17: World Baseball Classic

🏎️ March 6–8: F1 Season Opener

🏀 March 19–22: March Madness Opening Weekend

⚾️️ March 25–26: MLB Opening Day

🏀 April 4 & 6: Final Four

⛳️️ April 9–12: The Masters

• Go deeper.