American Notes WASHINGTON

Will the Keating Five become the Keating Three? Maybe, if the Senate ethics committee heeds its lawyer's recommendation that Democratic Senator John Glenn of Ohio and Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona be cleared, for insufficient evidence, of accusations that they granted improper favors to former S&L owner Charles H. Keating Jr. That would leave Arizona's Dennis DeConcini, Michigan's Donald Riegle and California's Alan Cranston, all Democratic Senators. Keating and his associates contributed $1.4 million to the five men, who intervened on his behalf with federal regulators. The committee, which has heard from Glenn, McCain and DeConcini, is expected to vote this week on whether to continue investigating some or all of the Senators.