Nine-year-old Zarlasht says she cried when her mother first cut her hair.

She says she felt uncomfortable in the clothes her older brothers lent her, but pulling the sweatshirt hood over her head could make her look more like a boy and help ensure her survival when she's on the streets of Kabul.

As dusk falls, Zarlasht walks near a bakery storefront, but it will be another hour of work before she can buy a loaf of bread. She walks with two-plastic wrapped packets of watermelon-flavored gum, trying to sell pieces to anyone who passes.

In the two years since she's been working on the street, Zarlasht says she usually makes between $1-2 a day. She says she spends it at the bakery to feed her four siblings and parents who wait each night for her return.

"I am always scared going out to do some work," she tells ABC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannell, who spoke with Zarlasht through a translator and followed her as she navigated part of a day in her life in Kabul. While she says she hasn't faced anything as dangerous so far, she fears of one day being kidnapped. "I don't know what will happen," she says.

Her father sells vegetables in a market, but doesn't make enough money to feed the family. Her mother, Shahpari, suffered a stroke she says was caused by the explosive sounds of war. She says it left a side of her body partially paralyzed and while some movement has returned, she claims she is unable to work. Shahpari explained that while her other children assist their mother throughout the day at home, Zarlasht, the youngest, is tasked with finding money for food on the street.

The young girl is not alone. UNICEF estimates that there are 60,000 street children in Kabul, alone. Thousands more were forced out of their homes in the days following the Taliban takeover. They walk the streets, desperate for money and food as the stranglehold on the national economy tightens.

Malnutrition can lead to frailty, but also an inability to sleep, focus, study, and stay motivated. UNICEF expects that international humanitarian food assistance could decrease from reaching 38% of the Afghan population to only 8% in the next few months, warning that 1.1 million children in the country could die this year due to lack of food if there is not serious intervention.

In Kabul, a local cafe offers a rare refuge for kids working on the streets.

Salam Cafe provides ice cold water and free, nutrient-rich meals three times a day to at least 45 Afghan street kids who are a part of the Hospitality for Humanity program.

For Zarlasht, it allows for a desperately needed reprieve during her day. Taking a break from selling watermelon-flavored gum on the street, she can eat thick slices of watermelon with other people her age.

The few rooms have become a clean and safe space where Afghan street working children can more comfortably be themselves. Kids draw and leaf through picture books. Instead of competing for spare change on the traffic-congested streets, the boys and girls sit together and play rock-paper-scissors.

MORE: 'Don't forget about us,' Afghan women say, 1 year after Taliban's return to power

In the cafe, teachers also lead classes to practice writing, reading, and other skills at a time where many girls in the country have been unable to attend formal school for close to a year.

"They have big dreams," the co-director of Salam Cafe, Salma Aslami, says of the children she works with. "Many of them told me I wish I become I the future a good engineer, teacher, doctor."

Instead, she says they "are being tortured." She assesses the situation is only getting worse.

Funds for the cafe are being depleted. If its doors close, aid workers say the kids might only be able to receive up to one meal a day elsewhere. Aslami says they can already face severe abuse on the streets.

While just this month the Supreme Leader of the Taliban has ordered to take beggars off the streets and offer jobs or education, Aslami hasn't seen a difference. "They will pay them a salary, but nothing has been done yet," she claims.

"I don't know how long more we will face this kind of difficulties," Zarlasht admits. "I wish to have better life and get out this kind of life. We have bad life."

While the cafe has been a safe space for her, the demanding work is still waiting for her once she steps outside its walls. The bakery she sells gum outside of is only a 10-minute walk away.

MORE: 1 year later, Republicans, Biden White House argue over Afghanistan withdrawal

With the few dollars she makes a day, Zarlasht hopes to make enough money to someday also pay for her mother's medicine. Despite recent attacks by the Taliban on girls' access to education, she says she aspires to become a doctor.

"I want to get rid of these problems," she says.

Until then, she says she may be forced to remain out on the streets, wandering through passersby, waiting for others to look down and notice.

ABC News' Ian Pannell and Cindy Smith contributed to this report.

9-year-old Kabul street peddler finds temporary safe haven in kids cafe originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Three people are dead after two small planes collided mid-air at a California airport on Thursday, authorities said. The crash occurred shortly before 3 p.m. local time at the Watsonville Municipal Airport in Watsonville, an agricultural area located about 50 miles south of San Jose, officials said. The two planes were attempting to land when they collided, the city of Watsonville said on social media.

Europe’s scorching drought has revealed the hulks of dozens of German warships that became submerged during World War Two near Serbia's river port town of Prahovo. The ships, sunken on Danube River, were part of Nazi Germany's Black Sea fleet in 1944 as they retreated from advancing Soviet forces, officials said. The vessels still impact the river today, often hampering river traffic during low water levels, authorities said.

Speaking with Billboard, the group -- which includes members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé and Lisa -- took a deep dive into what their new single represents. The group also launched the #PinkVenomChallenge on YouTube, which is designed to start a global dance party by encouraging fans to show off their best moves to the new single via YouTube Shorts. Lisa, BLACKPINK's main dancer, opened up about the video's "powerful" choreography.

A Michigan judge ruled that county prosecutors cannot enforce a near-total abortion ban on the books since 1931, ruling in favor of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Lawyers representing the governor had asked the court to grant a temporary restraining order after the judge held a two-day evidentiary hearing. Judge Jacob Cunningham granted Whitmer's request for a preliminary injunction, arguing not issuing this injunction would cause harm to the public.

Online home goods retailer Wayfair is laying off nearly 900 workers worldwide, which amounts to 5% of the company's workforce, the company said in a memo to employees on Friday. The cuts include about 400 jobs in Boston, where Wayfair is headquartered, the company said. Wayfair saw business surge during the pandemic, as people stuck at home eschewed brick-and-mortar shopping and increased spending on furniture, home renovations, and other domestic improvements.

Demi Lovato spent the last day of their 20s on Friday performing as part of the "Good Morning America" Summer Concert Series. When asked what it felt like to be celebrating their 30th birthday, Lovato told "GMA" the feeling was "incredible." "I'm grateful to be turning 30," the "Cool for the Summer" singer said.

A Florida woman was killed Thursday by lightning that also struck her child and a dog, authorities said. The Winter Springs Police Department said it received multiple reports of people possibly being struck by lightning near Trotwood Park at about 2:20 p.m. local time and deployed officers to the scene. Lightning appeared to have "hit a nearby tree, energizing the area and striking the victims," police said.

While most market research doesn't track Pilates separately from yoga, a report by Research Dive, the global Pilates and yoga studios market was expected to pull in revenue of $269.3 billion by 2028 compared to $127.7 billion in 2021 -- a compound annual growth rate of 10%. Classical vs. Contemporary Pilates: Classical Pilates is a style that stays true to the original Pilates method, called Contrology, created by Joseph Pilates.

Famed California restaurant Goose & Gander has apologized to South African musician Jonathan Kenneth Butler after an incident over the weekend in which a manager followed the singer-songwriter to his car to inquire about a tip. The singer-songwriter ate at Goose & Gander that same day and said that after the meal he was followed to his car by a manager who pressed him to see if Butler had "taken care" of the wait staff who served him.

Since the Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade in June, several states have enacted strict abortion bans. At least 15 states have ceased nearly all abortion services and an additional four states have bans that have been blocked in court and are undergoing legal challenges. Despite an ABC News/Washington Post poll finding 79% of Americans support making abortion legal in exceptions of rape, only four states with active bans allow for such exceptions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group focusing on sexual and reproductive health.

Just last week, officials found traces of the poliovirus in the city's wastewater system. According to the DOH data, the Williamsburg, Battery Park City and Bedford-Stuyvesant/Ocean Hill/Brownsville zip codes all report a vaccination level under 60% for children 6 months to 5 years of age. The Brooklyn neighborhoods that show low vaccination rates in young kids are linked to the Hasidic Jewish populations that have become increasingly adamant against vaccinations, experts say.

A teenage suspect was arrested in Washington, D.C., on Thursday in connection with a mass shooting that killed one person and wounded three others, police said. The charge stems from a deadly shooting that took place in Northwest D.C. on the night of June 19 during a music festival called Moechella, which was calling for racial and social justice while celebrating Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Police said they located a 15-year-old boy, a woman and two men, including a Metropolitan Police Department officer, who had all been struck by gunfire.

Dr. Brian Abittan, the director of skin and hair rejuvenation at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, said that he sees multiple patients a week who have reported hair loss after COVID-19. "A day doesn't go by that I don't get asked about it," Abittan told MedPage Today. Although more patients are clearly reporting the symptom after COVID, there isn't robust data describing how many patients experience this phenomenon or what factors put someone at risk for it.

The monkeypox outbreak continues to grow globally with over 14,000 cases in the U.S. alone, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Rosamund Lewis, the World Health Organization's Technical Lead for the monkeypox outbreak, spoke with "ABC News Live" Thursday about the latest updates and what health agencies are doing to combat the spread. ABC NEWS: Thank you so much for your time tonight, Dr. Lewis.

The designated press area at a recent Doug Mastriano event in Indiana County was a small, roped-off square tucked into the back corner of an airport hangar where the Republican nominee to be Pennsylvania's governor spoke to a crowd of more than 100 people in fold-up lawn chairs. There were no audio jacks, as are typically provided at campaign events to route high-quality sound to TV cameras, and no risers to give reporters a clear view of the stage. The scene in moderately populated Indiana County, roughly 60 miles east of Pittsburgh, is emblematic of much of the campaign for Mastriano, a right-wing state senator who has shunned the news media, relying instead on small events, Facebook, conservative press and campaign volunteers to project his message.

Uvalde residents, including families of Robb Elementary School shooting victims, have signed and sent a petition against assault weapons to Randy Klein, the owner of Oasis Outback, the local sporting goods store where the gunman retrieved the AR-15 he used to shoot at the school. "The members of this group feel strongly about our second amendment rights and support your establishment's commitment to selling guns and ammunition," the petition reads. It continued, "Out of RESPECT for and in support of those affected by this catastrophe, we strongly urge you to cease the sale of assault rifles and the ammunition paired with them."

Jazmin Kirkland, 34, of Bells, Texas, said her 2-year-old son didn't recognize her at first when she walked in the door of her family's home on Aug. 9, because he had no memory of ever seeing his mom outside of a hospital. "He was 1 when I went into the hospital and he sees the hospital as, that's mom's house," Kirkland told "Good Morning America." "He was confused. Kirkland's three children, ages 2, 7 and 10, had been used to seeing her only on FaceTime or during hospital visits since early August 2021, when she was hospitalized with COVID-19.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that state officials have criminally charged 20 people for voting while ineligible during the 2020 general election. The alleged fraudsters are now being arrested, DeSantis said, the highest-profile move yet by the newly minted Florida office tasked with policing voting. Flaunting the Office of Election Crimes and Security, rolled out in early July, DeSantis said during a press conference that the individuals were convicted of murder or felony sex offenses, which by Florida law stripped them of their right to vote.

Thousands of migrants seeking asylum who endured a 2,000-mile journey over several days, with little to no belongings or family, aboard buses sent from Texas now find themselves facing challenges establishing their new lives in New York City. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, since early May, has been sending busloads of migrants out of Texas to cities with Democrat leaders, including New York City and Washington, D.C. The Republican governor says he started the busing programs in response to the Biden administration's immigration policies which he claims inadequately secure the border, forcing states like his to bear the brunt of migrant waves. Many of the migrants are still arriving almost daily in the Big Apple, including 18-year-old student Brayan Amaro, who began his journey alone in his home country of Venezuela.

Another set of human remains were found in Lake Mead near Las Vegas, the second time this month that remains have been found in the country's largest reservoir, officials said Wednesday. The remains were discovered at Swim Beach in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area around 8:00 p.m. Monday, according to the National Park Service. With the help of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's dive team, park rangers responded and set up a perimeter to retrieve the body, the NPS said.