A Van Gogh.
(Image credit: Neil Hanna/Handout via REUTERS)

1. Barber surprises longtime neighborhood street vendor with a special haircut

Growing up, Damian Villanueva would see Bartolo Huate Pacheco pushing his cart through their Santa Ana, California, neighborhood, selling popsicles to residents. Often, Villanueva could tell that Pacheco was exhausted after working all day, and "I always had in my mind, one day I'm going to do something for this guy," he told ABC 7. That day came earlier this month, when Villanueva, now a barber, approached Pacheco and asked if he could give him a haircut. He agreed, and the pair chatted about life. Villanueva learned that Pacheco had to stay home for two months after getting COVID-19, and has been robbed four times. When he was finished, Villanueva handed Pacheco a mirror so he could look at his new haircut — plus $100, for him to use on whatever he wanted. Pacheco was moved to tears. "People don't want to work forever," Villanueva said. "They want to live life after, too, so I wanted to help him." The barber said this is only the beginning, and he's started a GoFundMe to raise money for street vendors across Santa Ana.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.