▶ Follow live updates on

While some less traditional schools accept tourists into their drums sections, Mocidade only allows locals. They were the first school toon Tuesday night, the final evening of Carnival.

Romualdo Gomes, a professional musician, drums for Mocidade out of love, like all his companions. But he never loses sight of the nearest director guiding the beat.“You just pay attention to the director,” Gomes said. “You have to pay attention — there’s a way to show every groove.”The drum section plays throughout a school’s entire parade, lasting between 70 and 80 minutes, striving to lose neither tempo nor flair. Carnival judges

for various categories, including drumming; it is assessed based on creativity, consistency and how well it suits each samba school’s theme and lyrics.A performer from the Mocidade samba school directs a float alongside artificial intelligence images of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

A performer from the Mocidade samba school directs a float alongside artificial intelligence images of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Drum queen Erika Januza, from the Viradouro samba school, performs during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)Still, Walmart isn’t immune.

CEO Doug McMillon told analysts Thursday that Walmart imports general merchandise from dozens of countries. But China, in particular, represents a big chunk of volume in certain categories like electronics and toys.Tariffs on countries like Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia are raising costs on groceries like avocados, coffee and roses, in addition to bananas, company executives said. In some cases, Walmart is absorbing costs on general merchandise within departments or a category and not simply passing on a tariff cost attributable to each item individually, executives said.

Walmart is also asking suppliers to swap input materials for components if possible, for example, using fiberglass instead of aluminum, which Trump hit with tariffs in early March.“We’re very dependent upon imports for these types of products,” Rainey told The Associated Press.