| "I think everyone in the White House should be wearing a mask." -- Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb on the news of positive COVID cases within VP Mike Pence's staff.
Welcome to the "Face the Nation" Five at Five newsletter. Scroll down for your five takeaways from today's broadcast with moderator Margaret Brennan on CBS. Did someone forward you this? Sign-up at cbsnews.com/email. 1. Defeat the interferers: "Get out and vote"  Amid warnings from national security and intelligence officials about efforts by foreign adversaries to influence the 2020 presidential election, national security adviser Robert O'Brien assured Americans who have already voted or are preparing to cast their ballots that their votes will not be made public. O'Brien said the best way to stop interference is to participate in the voting process. What we asked: What do Americans need to know about whether their votes are going to be accurately counted, given the foreign interference the administration highlighted this week? What O'Brien said: "...get out and vote. That's how we defeat our foreign adversaries that are seeking to sow discord among Americans. Let's get out. If you vote early, great. If you vote on Election Day, great. If you vote absentee, great. But get out and vote. That's how we stop the plans of our adversaries." Why it matters: The commitment from O'Brien comes days after Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe confirmed that Iran was behind threatening emails sent to voters in several states last week that purported to come from The Proud Boys, warning recipients to vote for President Trump "or else." The Proud Boys, a right-wing group, has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights advocacy group. The Department of Homeland Security and FBI also issued an advisory Thursday revealing that Russian hackers targeted dozens of local and state government networks and successfully stole data from at least two servers. 2. Gottlieb shares how to best #MaskUp for election day  With much of America participating in early voting, how can citizens do it safely, particularly as they choose to vote in-person? Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb explained Sunday which masks will protect you best. What Gottlieb said: "The masks serve two purposes. One is to protect other people from you. So if you're asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, if you have a mask on, you're less likely to expel respiratory droplets that can infect other people. The other purpose is to provide you some measure of protection if, in fact, you're around people who are infected. So if you want to mask to afford you some protection from other people, quality matters. A cloth mask, may be 10% to 30% protective, a surgical mask, a level two or level three, surgical mask, procedure mask, maybe about 60% effective. An N95 mask or an equivalent like a KN95 mask, which is the Chinese equivalent or what we call an FFP2 mask, which is a European equivalent to an N95 that could be 90-95% protective. So if you want to mask to afford you a level of protection, wear a higher quality mask. If you only can get a cloth mask, thickness matters and cloth masks with polyester in them and a combination of polyester and cotton do better." Why it matters: Gottlieb's advice comes just almost a week before election day where voters are due to expect long lines and close quarters while waiting to cast their ballots should they choose to do so in-person on November 3. 3. Arkansas Republican Hutchinson parts with party; endorses idea of mask mandate  Governor Asa Hutchinson of deeply-red Arkansas took a strong stand in support of mask mandates, citing the personal responsibility's effectiveness in COVID-19 mitigation. What Hutchinson said: "Primarily it's the individual responsibility of our citizens to do what is necessary and pull together, increase usage of masks you see in Arkansas in compliance with the mask mandate that we have in place." Why it matters: Hutchinson later said that it was the president's inconsistent messaging on masks that was "confusing" for Americans. "The president, leaders in crisis always need to do two things. One is to be truthful and realistic. And everyone knows that we are going through a very difficult crisis and it's going to likely get worse as we go into the winter. Secondly, you've got to give the American people hope, and that is the vaccine that the administration is working incredibly hard for," he said. 4. Kansas City's Mayor Lucas "concerned" about voter intimidation  Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Quinton Lucas highlighted a growing problem for communities of color: voter intimidation tactics at play ahead of election day. What we asked: Are you concerned about turnout on November 3rd? What Lucas said: "I'm always concerned about turnout, particularly voter intimidation, particularly some of the work that's done to misdirect voters. So in Missouri, we're one of 10 states that does not have a pure form of early voting. That said, a lot of people have been voting absentee. Twenty three percent of Kansas citizens already have. That's registered voters. We're expecting up to 40% of registered voters to vote- vote before Election Day. But particularly in communities of color, particularly in communities where you see voter intimidation tactics work, I am concerned about things such as which is totally lawful, something in Missouri called poll challengers. And while they can't challenge the person voting, they can stand there when you're checking in and say this person shouldn't be voting today. As somebody who was turned away from the polls recently because of a snafu, I recognize that that can be a real barrier to somebody who perhaps is going out to vote for the first time." Why it matters: As Lucas noted, communities across the country are facing more disadvantages at the ballot box than ever before. With fewer drop-box locations in certain states to COVID-19 fears, marginalized communities are presented with unique challenges while trying to fulfill their civic duty. 5. Watch Face the Nation's latest focus group with likely voters ahead of Election Day  Does the coronavirus pandemic have a role in who you're voting for? What about the *way* in which you vote? These are just some of the questions voters in our focus group were tasked with as Margaret Brennan took a temperature check just 9 days before election day. Watch the full segment here. Save the date: Go behind-the-scenes of CBS News' election coverage with Margaret Brennan at 92Y Wednesday, October 28, from 7:00 PM ET Go behind-the-scenes with a team of CBS News journalists and correspondents guiding viewers through an unprecedented election cycle while also covering the global COVID-19 pandemic. Get your tickets here to hear from CBS News journalists on the frontlines covering critical issues like voting integrity, misinformation efforts targeting the electorate, the latest on the presidential race, and more. Joining the evening's panel are Face the Nation moderator and senior foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan; chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett; chief justice and homeland security correspondent Jeff Pegues; political correspondent Ed O'Keefe; and elections and surveys director Anthony Salvanto. | 
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