try this:
var respBody = '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?><etp lastUpdated="10/15/2010">wertwe2<a>df</a></etp>';
var respXml = jQuery.parseXML(respBody);
console.log($(respXml).children().attr('lastUpdated'));
console.log($(respXml).children().text());
-- Kevin